Sir Alex Ferguson credits Patrice Evra for being the unsung hero behind Ashley Young's remarkable introduction to life at Manchester United.
An £18million summer purchase from Aston Villa, Young has enjoyed a blistering start to his Old Trafford career, scoring two excellent goals against Arsenal a fortnight ago to cap a succession of outstanding performances.
"Some players come to a club like ours and find it difficult to settle in but Ashley has done exceptionally well," said the United boss.
"He is versatile and has a good understanding of the game. He is getting great support from Evra on the left-hand side. The great experience Patrice brings is very important for a player coming to our club."
United first spotted Young's talent many years ago. However, Ferguson concedes the 26-year-old is a different player now to the one he kept an eye on back then.
"We tried to get him when he was at Watford but were just a bit late. He has matured at Aston Villa and his form last season was fantastic considering they had a difficult year. Since he has come to us, he has taken the challenge very well," he said.
Goalkeeper David de Gea has not found it quite so easy, and at Bolton on Saturday can look forward to another searching examination of his abilities.
He was buffeted around pretty badly at West Brom on the opening weekend and the fear is of something similar being meted out by Kevin Davies. Not that Ferguson is concerned, especially if referee Andre Marriner does his job properly.
"There is nothing wrong with that," said Ferguson of the pressure De Gea is likely to come under. "That is part of the challenge. Each game that comes along is a new experience for him.
"He actually did very well at West Brom in the sense of dealing with it but he didn't get the protection from the referee at the time. We expect him to get better protection than that."
Source: PA
