Darron Gibson's future is bright but is he willing to wait ?
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Bit-part player or Old Trafford legend - Darron Gibson's future is bright but is he willing to wait for his chance at United?
Decision time: Gibson's raised his profile but may need move from Old Trafford
If the likes of Federico Macheda, Danny Welbeck and Darron Gibson needed any reminding of how difficult it will be to establish themselves as Manchester United players, then the presence of a new face at the training ground last week will have done just that.
At 21 years, Mame Biram Diouf is one of the best young players in African football, a Senegal international who will officially join up with United next month after finishing the domestic season with Molde in Norway.
It is more than possible that Diouf - scouted personally by United reserve-team coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and signed last summer - will find himself on loan for the rest of this season, probably in Belgium.
Nevertheless, his visit to the Carrington training complex emphasises how the United production line relentlessly keeps turning out new faces.
Macheda may have scored two vital Barclays Premier League goals last season and yesterday put his name to a new four-year contract.
Welbeck may have been tipped as an outside bet for the England World Cup squad by Sir Alex Ferguson, and Gibson may be the latest name on the back pages after two Carling Cup goals against Tottenham on Tuesday.
But for those three, and other hopefuls, the route to a regular place in Ferguson’s squad will be long and difficult. It could be that they never get there.
Gibson, 22, reflected on his efforts against Spurs and suggested the team that won 2-0 on Tuesday could hold its own in the Premier League.
England hopeful? Welbeck has been tipped as a future international by Fergie
‘When you face established Premier League players like that it increases the pressure because we have to prove that we are good enough to play against them,’ said the Republic of Ireland international.
‘And this week we proved we’re good enough, as individuals and as a team, to play in the Premier League every week. That team would be good enough to compete there.’
Gibson, known as a quiet but decent man, may have a point but unwittingly he has hit upon another, more salient, issue.
There is a huge difference between being good enough for the top flight and being good enough for Manchester United. And the dilemma facing players of his age and ability centres on how long they are prepared to wait.
Do they, for example, take the Darren Fletcher approach and resist overtures from elsewhere in the hope of establishing themselves by their mid-twenties?
Waiting game: Fletcher chose to bide his time rather than leave Old Trafford
Or do they follow the lead of defenders Ryan Shawcross (Stoke) and Jonathan Spector (West Ham) and look elsewhere for regular football?
Ferguson touched on the problems facing Gibson in particular when he recently said: ‘He’s not playing the amount of football he would wish for but he’s had very good competition in Scholes, Anderson, Carrick and Fletcher.
‘He’s never let it get to him in terms of being unsettled. His performances in training are excellent and he comes in knowing it has been worthwhile. 'But sometimes you can’t hold a young man back and that time is approaching for Darron now that he’s becoming a good, powerful midfield player.’
For all Gibson’s promise, it should be noted that Ferguson has seen fit to start him in just one Premier League game, the end-of-season dead rubber at Hull in which he scored the winning goal.
Patience pays off: Gibson's mobbed by United team-mates on scoring his second
It is hard to see him making regular appearances during this season. Macheda and Welbeck have been given slightly more encouragement but it is all relative.
As the arrival of young Diouf showed last week, time waits for nobody at Old Trafford.