Ferguson regards Cleverly as the best midfielder in UK

 Sir Alex Ferguson is convinced they have a super talent on their hands in Tom Cleverley.

The youngster is currently sidelined injured.

And Ferguson said: "Cleverley’s a massive loss.

"He, to my mind, is probably the best midfield player in Britain, potentially. He has fantastic promise, so it’s a loss to us."

Ferguson says buying midfielder would block Cleverley development

 Sir Alex Ferguson admits he doesn't want to block the progress of Tom Cleverley by signing a new midfielder.

Ferguson knew that replacing the retired Paul Scholes would take some time, but he has faith in his policy of promoting from within.

"When you lose a player of Scholes' brilliance, there's a 'time lapse' which allows someone to emerge from the youth or reserve team, or to come back from a loan spell," he explained.

"Cleverley was at Wigan last year and also had spells at Leicester and Watford. He gained maturity from being on loan and we have to wait on and trust that."

Cleverley quits Adidas for bumper Nike boot deal

Tom Cleverley has landed a new boot deal.

The People says Cleverley has landed a new boot deal that will see the youngster switch from Adidas to Nike – and earn around £400,000 a year.

The midfielder has established himself as a first teamer at United this season.

Welbeck: Tom Cleverley can become a world-class player

Danny Welbeck believes that team-mate Tom Cleverley can mature into a world-class talent. 

The two are friends off the pitch and have linked up well on it, with Cleverley’s inch-perfect cross finding the striker for a goal in the club's home game against Tottenham in August.

Cleverley has been missed in recent games as he has twice been sidelined with injuries, but the 20-year-old striker feels that he will continue to make rapid progress on his return to action.  

"I think he can become a world-class player," Welbeck told the club's official website.

"Football is such a simple game, it's how hard you make it for yourself. Tom keeps it so simple and it is hard to do that when you're in centre-midfield, but Tom does that. He gets the ball, passes it, moves into space and he's just always there as an extra option every time you’ve got the ball.

"He's really good to play with, I enjoy playing with him so much and he's got the awareness, the vision and the ability to pick out a pass and actually produce a final pass as well and he's just going to carry on improving. You can see that every single day in training. He's a really good player."

The two have both risen through United’s youth system at Carrington, so it is unsurprising that the pair’s combination looks so natural. 

Welbeck added: "We are really good friends off the field and quite a few people come up to us and tell us that it shows on the field.”

Manchester United to cough up to Bradford over Tom Cleverley cash

Bradford have won their David v Goliath battle with Manchester United over payments owed for Tom Cleverley.

The League Two strugglers, who lie 89th in the football pyramid, argued they were due fees totalling over £100,000 for Cleverley's loan moves.

The midfield star, 22, who has been included in the England squad, left Bradford for United when he was 12.

A clause in the contract stated Bradford would be paid 10 per cent of fees whenever Cleverley's registration was transferred.

United argued the agreement only applied to a permanent transfer but Bradford claimed it applied to loans too and the clubs have now settled.

Tom Cleverley signs new four-year deal at Manchester United

Tom Cleverley has signed a new contract with Manchester United which will keep him at the club until 2015, the club has confirmed.

Cleverley, currently sidelined with an ankle injury, has been rewarded with a new deal following a blistering start to the season at Old Trafford after returning from a productive loan spell at Wigan Athletic last term.

The 22-year-old midfielder's performances this season have even earned him a call-up to Fabio Capello's England squad, and boss Sir Alex Ferguson has no doubt a fine future awaits him.

"Tom is one of the brightest prospects in the English game," the United boss told the club's official website.

"For a young boy, he has a good footballing brain which, when coupled with his energy and ability, makes for a player with a fine future ahead of him.

"It’s the United way to encourage our young players to make their mark in the first team and Tom has grabbed that chance with both hands."

Cleverley himself says he is focused on recovering from injury so he can build on his promising start to the campaign and help United's quest for silverware.

"It’s been a fantastic start to the season for me, breaking into the first team and getting an England call-up," he said.

"Having grown up at the club, I’d love to be able to make a contribution to United winning more trophies. We have a squad with great ability and I can’t wait to get started again."

Cleverley: Why I chose No23

Tom Cleverley is happy to be running around with the No23 on his back.

The Basingstoke-born lad who has been at United since he was 12. Loan spells at Leicester, Watford and Wigan have turned him into a man.

Cleverley said: "I have always looked on thinking one day I want to be on the pitch.

"It is happening, but I have got to work hard and stay there. Growing up around Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and David Beckham you know the history of the club.

"I looked at Scholes and Beckham, top professionals you can model your game on."

Cleverley even chose No '23' because Becks still wears it.

He said: "The manager offered me 22 or 23. I prefer wearing odd numbers.

"David Beckham was my idol growing up, and he wore No 23 at Real Madrid and still does with LA Galaxy

'Playing for Manchester United doesn't all of a sudden make me a great footballer' – Tom Cleverley

Tom Cleverley insists he will be keeping his feet firmly on the ground after being named in the England squad.

Cleverley was called up to the squad to play a friendly against the Netherlands after impressing for his club in the Community Shield, but the match was postponed due to riots in the English capital.

But Cleverley has been given the chance to earn his Three Lions debut after being named in the squad to face Bulgaria and Wales in England’s qualifiers for Euro 2012.

The 22-year-old told reporters: "Although I feel I improved in pre-season, I am still the same player and the same guy. Just because I am playing in United's first team, that doesn't all of a sudden make me a great footballer.

"It is a bit strange when people are talking about you, but in my head I am still the same footballer who was sent out on loan to Wigan last year. The only difference is that I am turning out for Manchester United now."

Cleverley is just one of a handful of youngsters to have figured in United's sensational start to the season, which continued on Sunday with a historic 8-2 win over Arsenal.

"Nobody wants to get too carried away, but this is a youthful squad and it is exciting to be part of it," Cleverley continued.

"Some of us younger lads don't know what it is like to win the Premier League yet but that is where the experience of others comes into it. A few older players left the club in the summer but we have still got experience in abundance."

Cleverley is joined by team-mates Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Ashley Young and Wayne Rooney in the England squad.

Man Utd plan new double-your-money deals for Welbeck, Cleverley

Manchester United plan to upgrade the contracts of young duo Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley.

The Sun says they are to be rewarded with double-your-money five-year deals.

Old Trafford bosses were already preparing contract reviews, which would see their pay shoot to £40,000 a week, before Monday's heroics in the home win against Tottenham.

Striker Welbeck, who scored one and crafted another in the 3-0 win, has little under two years remaining on his existing terms.

Both he and midfield ace Cleverley, who only signed a three-year extension last summer, are currently two of the lowest-paid in United's first-team squad.

Do you know Man Utd refused to hand Cleverley terms as 16 year-old.

Manchester United did not offer Tom Cleverley pro terms when he was 16, admits coach Brian McClair.

The midfielder has been a revelation at the start of this season.

McClair told the Manchester Evening News: “We didn’t offer Tom a job when he was 16 because he was too small. But he was a good footballer and we recommended to him and his family that he stayed on at school and come in as often as he could to United and we’d see how he developed.

“We’ve had players like Phil Bardsley now at Sunderland and Danny Simpson now at Newcastle who, when they 13, we put them back a year and played them in the Under-12s. It gave them breathing space to catch up physically.

“Having those experiences and the examples more recently of Danny and Tom helps us in the Academy. If we have parents who are worried because their son is not developing physically as quickly as his peers or has an injury we can point to these lads and say ‘look don’t get upset, it has happened before and it can work out fine’.

Ferdinand: Cleverley fantastic young player

Rio Ferdinand is expecting Tom Cleverley to make a major impact this season.

Ferdinand has been impressed by Cleverley's pre-season form, not least in last Sunday's comeback win over Manchester City at Wembley.

"Not many people knew about Tom Cleverley before he came on in that game," he told manutd.com. "He was magnificent when he came on. Danny Welbeck was too, and both of them got called into the England squad [for the postponed friendly with Holland].

"There are others too. Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Jonny Evans, Fabio, Rafael, David de Gea, Ben Amos, Anders Lindegaard... I could go on and on about the younger players. Mixed in with the experience we have, it all bodes well for the future.

"Everybody knew he had the talent but he was physically very slight. Since then he has grown, he has worked hard and he has matured. He's done his apprenticeship by going out on loan and he's come back as a fantastic young player. He has some great traits. He sees the game clearly and plays the ball forward in a nice way.

"All the things people were worrying about, with his height and his size, have been knocked on the head now. He is showing people his true worth. He did it on loan at Wigan last year and I heard Roberto Martinez speak many times about how good he is. Our manager also speaks highly of Tom and I am sure he will have a fantastic career."

Bradford tell Manchester United: You owe us for Tom Cleverley

Tom Cleverly is at the centre of a David and Goliath battle between League Two side Bradford and Manchester United.

United ace Cleverley, 21, was called up by England earlier this week.

And Bradford, the club which nurtured him as a kid, demand United pay 10 per cent of all loan fees they received for Cleverley while he was learning his trade at Leicester, Watford and Wigan.

To a club Bradford's size, which has twice been in administration, the sum they are due from United is potentially enormous, possibly six figures.

The deal, which took midfielder Cleverley to United from Bradford as a 12-year-old schoolboy, stated the Yorkshire club would be paid 10 per cent whenever his registration was transferred.

It did not stipulate it had to be a permanent transfer. Bradford argue they are entitled to payments for all three loans.

United are believed to have offered £50,000 to settle the argument.

The Bantams have been unable to find out what fees United received for Cleverley's loan deals - but believe there was a down-payment of around £300,000 made by Wigan when he moved to the DW Stadium last season.

Under FA rules, fees due to other clubs are supposed to be paid within 21 days of a transfer agreement being struck otherwise the club concerned is fined at a rate of one per cent per day for up to three years.

The club due the money is also entitled to eight per cent interest above base rate per annum.

Bradford joint-chairman Mark Lawn admitted: "We're currently in discussions with United.

"They are a professional and sensible club so I don't see a problem.

"We're saying that this is the contract and we believe we're owed money so we're waiting for them to get back to us."

United refused to comment to SunSport about Bradford's claim.

Announcing the arrival of new WAG in Manchester, Tom Cleverley’s girlfriend Emily O’Hara

Tom Cleverly should get over his England disappointment pretty quickly judging by these sizzling shots of his gorgeous girlfriend.

Manchester United starlet Tom's Three Lions debut was KO'd by the London riots.

But the midfield ace, 22, will now get the chance for extra-time with his model partner Emily O'Hara, 23.

Every cloud, Tom...every cloud.

Solskjaer: Cleverley has the lot

Former Manchester United reserves coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer isn't surprised by the plaudits coming Tom Cleverley's way.

Solskjaer describes Cleverley as a "top-quality player and a top-quality human being".

Solskjaer, now manager at FC Molde in Norway, said: "He is the type of player you want in every squad.

"There are talented players and then players like Tom who have everything. Tom is a class act as a person and a great player to have in a group."

Cleverley: Loan moves helping my Manchester United career

Tom Cleverley says the loan system has been crucial in his career.

Cleverley, who spent last season at Wigan Athletic, has been told he will be part of United's squad this term.

He told manutd.com: "Definitely. It's a big conveyor belt now and every young player at a top-four club has got to go through it.

"You've got to be a special talent to walk straight into the first-team. Just look at Jack Wilshere: even he did his time out on loan and that's just the basic progression."