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| Chicarito |
It has been a good long time since a young player at Manchester United has gotten me excited. I know Rooney and Ronaldo were young when they arrived but Rooney was something of a known quantity, while Ronaldo was hard to like despite his talent. Javier Hernandez on the other hand looks to have quality and a likeable persona.
When his signing was first announced no one paid much attention. His YouTube goals collection, the first stop for interested fans to see new unknown players in action, was impressive but everyone knows you can't trust YouTube tributes. His performances for Mexico during the World Cup in South Africa however made people sit up and take notice. In particular his goal against Argentina was quality, showing pace, a great touch and a good ability to finish. There is also the little reported fact that Hernadez was officially clocked by FIFA as the fastest player at the tournament. Had United found a new superstar for only €7 million?
Hernandez started pre-season in blistering form, including that infamous Community Shield goal against Chelski. His first few appearances in the league didn't go quite so well though. It looked as thought he had fallen down the pecking order behind Owen and Macheda. A couple of weeks ago I had been talking to a colleague and mentioned that I wanted to see Hernandez given another opporunity. That night he came off the bench to score the winner against Valencia in Spain. He hasn't looked back since.
This past week he has scored three goals, two against Stoke and the late winner against Wovles in the League Cup after coming on as a late sub. This brings his tally to an impressive six goals in eleven games. There is a lot of hype and expectations building up around Hernandez at the moment and I just hope he can hold his nerve and continue to progress. At this particular time it is good to see something positive at Old Trafford after the recent Rooney saga and the poor onfield performances this season.
