United’s Youngsters Face Mixed Week: Loan Watch

Oliver Norwood joins Coventry until the end of the season

Deadline day might have been quiet with regards to the first team but it was a different story at Reserve level with a flurry of late deals made which will hopefully benefit youngsters going out on loan.

The well documented story of Ravel Morrison’s move to West Ham was the story on most United fans’ lips on Tuesday night but that wasn’t all going on…

Oliver Norwood has signed for Coventry City on loan until the end of the season.

The Northern Ireland international, 20, signed a professional contract with United in 2009 but has yet to make a senior appearance. The midfielder shone on loan at Scunthorpe in the first half of the season and has jumped up a league to further test his mettle. The Sky Blues are currently at the foot of the table and are desperate for a creative spark in their bid to avoid relegation.

Coventry chief executive Tim Fisher told the club website: “It’s great that we’ve been able to secure his services ahead of many other clubs.”

Scott Wootton joined fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest after spending the first-half of the season at Peterborough with fellow United player Ryan Tunnicliffe. The defender will hope to get a good run of games at the City Ground as Forest have been shipping goals for fun of late.
Manager Steve Cotterill is adamant Wootton will help shore up Forest’s defence as they battle against relegation from the Championship.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Cotterill said: “Scott is a good footballer, he’s composed. He’s a big lad and played very well against us here for Peterborough – he actually played in midfield that day – and he will bring a bit of youthful exuberance to us.

A shock cross-city transfer was made on deadline day too as United signed 19-year-old Swiss centre-back Frederic Veseli from local rivals Manchester City.Veseli joined City from Lausanne Sport in 2008 and captained his country to victory at the 2009 Under-17 World Cup .

“I am very happy and it is an honour to sign for Manchester United,” said Veseli, who featured on City’s pre-season tour to the USA last summer.

“I can’t wait to get started. I am looking forward to showing everybody what I can do on the pitch.”

Back to those already on loan, John Cofie started and netted his first goal for Royal Antwerp against Dender after just six minutes. Buoyed by the goal, Cofie grew in confidence and had a string of opportunities that he couldn’t put away.However, it wasn’t to be the dream day out for young Cofie as Gunter Thiebaut scored a late equaliser.

Joshua King and Robbie Brady started for Hull in their FA Cup shock defeat to League Two side Crawley on Saturday and looked bright throughout the first half until Brady was knocked out cold which meant he missed the 0-0 draw with Doncaster through concussion. King, meanwhile, came on for the last 22 minutes against Donacter, replacing ex-Red Cameron Stewart as the Tigers chased a late winner. King had a couple of chances, most notably, a shot blocked by Tommy Spurr.

It really is Groundhog Day for Kiko Macheda who finds himself further down the pecking order at QPR as they snapped up Bobby Zamora and Djibril Cisse on deadline day. The Italian played the second half of the R’s grudge match with Chelsea in the FA Cup but was stranded upfront on his own. He was also brought on in the last 10 minutes of Wednesday’s 2-2 draw at Villa Park.

Ryan Tunnicliffe played the last half hour of Peterborough’s 3-0 home loss to Portsmouth. The midfielder made little impact as Pompey played keep-ball and frustrated the home side on a day to forget.