Teen prodigy James Wilson should be nurtured carefully by Manchester United

Wilson looks certain to be a world class player

Manchester United currently face a shortage of strikers due to Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie picking up injuries and will have to manage without them for a couple of weeks. Javier Hernandez and Danny Welbeck are expected to lead the line until the star duo return from injury but United fans were pleasantly surprised to see a teenage boy with brown hair among the substitutes for the match against Newcastle which United won 4-0. The boy in question is an 18-year-old, scores goals for fun and calls himself James Wilson.

The youngster has been with United since the tender age of seven and has always been played ahead of his age group and scored a remarkable goal in the quarter-final of the FA Youth Cup against Charlton Athletic at just 16. Wilson continued to progress and was United’s youth team’s top scorer for the 2011-2012 season with 14 goals some of which include the phenomenal five goals against Newcastle United’s youth team. The young strikers phenomenal performances earned him a permanent place in United’s Under-21 squad.

The England Under-19 international proved that his goal scoring expertise extends beyond England when he hit 6 goals in the UEFA Youth League. Wilson is an out an out striker with an eye for spectacular goals and a natural finisher of the ball. The Englishman’s remarkable run with the Under-21’s earned him a place on the bench against Newcastle United but did not manage to make his debut against the Magpies. Wilson started for the Under-21s against Tottenham two days after the Newcastle game and unsurprisingly scored a cracking goal which helped his team win the match.

Wilson could very well become Manchester United’s answer to Michael Owen who broke into the Liverpool first team as a 17-year-old but I sincerely hope the youngster doesn’t follow the same path as the retired striker. Owen was without doubt a world class footballer and netted a ridiculous 23 goals during his debut season at Liverpool at the tender age of 18.

Owen continued to be heavily used by both club and country without a break and never had a chance to fully develop his body which had a negative effect on later in his career where he picked up numerous injuries. Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who promoted numerous young players, also stated that Liverpool overburden Owen and were partly responsible for the downward spiral in his career.

If Manchester United make the same mistake and use Wilson a bit too much then there would be a high chance of the youngster suffering a burnout. Nobody can blame United for wanting to use such a prolific goalscorer like Wilson as soon as possible but the club should keep Michael Owen’s case in mind before they select the youngster. The Premier League can be rough on youngster Cristiano Ronaldo, who was often fouled by opposing players during his early days at United, can vouch for that.

Wilson should be used in a handful of Cup games next season to get some experience with the first team and then should go out on loan to the Championship or League One in order to further his development and prepare him for Premier League football. Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley improved a lot after their loan spells at Sunderland and Wigan so there is no reason why Wilson cannot follow their footsteps. Moyes has handled Januzaj’s development very well this season so Wilson will be in safe hands when he gets a breakthrough in Manchester United’s first team.

Let’s hope everything goes well for the boy who is destined to inherit Manchester United’s legendary number 9 shirt.

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