Man United sign Serbian starlets

Zoran Tosic & Adem Ljajic

That's the headline on the Soccernet news item and, for me, it confirms a pattern that has emerged over the past few seasons i.e. that of Sir Alex Ferguson rolling the dice on young, exciting, emerging talents.

Look at the list : Nani, Anderson, Rafael, Possebon .... and now, Zoran Tosic and Adem Ljajic. All signed before the age of 22 and all not-quite-yet proven goods at the time they were bought. Oh, they have all got more than their fair share of talent but we're also talking about adapting to the Premier League, a new country and culture, language, food, family, home sickness ... and we're talking about very young men here. Mere youths, even. With a boat load of cash. And with legions of nubile, young girls who know who they are and maybe, just maybe, where to find them.

I guess that Sir Alex has learned a harsh lesson from the whole John Obi Mikel scandal with Chelsea. Buying these players young seems to be a pre-emptive strike to get his players before the big money at Chelsea, or latterly Manchester City, talks (NB. big money at Chelsea has since dried up). And it really is rolling the dice because these guys aren't coming cheap. Still, with Christiano Ronaldo as the original poster boy for this select group, Sir Alex looks likely to continue with this policy.

I leave you with a Youtube of Zoran Tosic. Judging from his left foot, Nani should start worrying.