Just under a year ago, Federico Macheda could do no wrong. A goal on his debut against Aston Villa, followed by the winner the next week against Sunderland, the 17 year old Italian striker was tipped for greatness. His goalscoring heroics were rewarded with a start in the FA Cup semi-final loss to Everton and his first Premier League start against Middlesborough. But this season, Macheda is nowhere to be seen. Has Fergie pulled off a masterstroke by keeping his striking prodigy under wraps this season and out of the spotlight?

Part of a recent core of United youngsters that include Brazilian twins Fabio and Rafael, Darron Gibson, Danny Wellbeck and fellow Italian Davide Petrucci, Macheda was poached from Lazio in 2007, after being compared to team-mate Dimitar Berbatov in terms of playing style. But since bursting onto the scene at the end of last season, Macheda has yet to make a Premiership appearance this campaign, not even as a substitute.

Fergie knows what he is doing and is obviously keen to keep Macheda out of the limelight and develop at his own pace. Still only 18, the Italian has got plenty of time to mature and fulfil his promise of a world-class player. So many times, you hear of young footballers who get carried away and start believing in their own hype, frittering away their talent because of their oversized egos. Players like Arturo Lupoli, Sam Dalla Bona, Jody Morris and Michael Duberry fall into this category as players that were tipped for big things at their respective clubs but failed to deliver.

Macheda signed a new four year deal with United last December, and has got plenty of time to develop. I think Sir Alex has made the right move this season letting Macheda develop in the reserves and with United short of depth up front after Rooney and Berbatov, the youngster could be set to make a big impression next season and challenge for a first team place. As long as he can keep his feet on the ground and avoid the pitfalls of his predecessors like David Bellion and Manucho at Old Trafford, the Italian youngster could become a real star.

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