Source: Daily_Mail
Manchester United's Tom Cleverley handed England call-up
Manchester United midfielder Tom Cleverley has been rewarded for his excellent performance in the Community Shield with a place in the England squad.[LNB]Cleverley will join up with the senior England players ahead of Wednesday night's friendly clash with Holland at Wembley Stadium. [LNB]The 21-year-old has previously spent time on loan with Watford and Leicester and has represented England's Under 21s.[LNB] All smiles: Cleverley will be returning to Wembley on Wednesday with England[LNB]United team-mate, Ashley Young backed Cleverley, who spent last season on loan at Wigan, to grasp his international opportunity with both hands.[LNB]The only surprise for Young is that Cleverley, who celebrates his 22nd birthday on Friday, had to wait for injuries to rule out Jack Wilshere and Michael Carrick before receiving the good news.[LNB]'Tom is worthy of his place in the squad,' said Young.[LNB]'I actually thought he might have been in it earlier. It is a massive achievement but I have worked with him for a few weeks now.[LNB]'He did really well on tour and his performance yesterday, for such a youngster, was excellent. He is a confident person and controlled the game.'[LNB] Squeezed out: Wilshere will return to his club[LNB] [LNB]Carrick and Wilshere have both returned to their clubs after having been assessed bythe England medical team.[LNB]Fabio Capello had risked a major row with Arsene Wenger by ordering Wilshere to report for England duty.[LNB]Wenger insisted that Wilshere is not fit enough to play any part in Wednesday's friendly because of an ankle injury.[LNB]And on Arsenal's official website, Wenger said: 'They can include him as much as they want; he will not play.'[LNB][LNB]Although Carrick did feature in yesterday's defeat of City, he has complained of a tight achilles duringthe build-up and as United are due to begin their Barclays Premier League title defence at West Brom on Sunday, Sir Alex Ferguson will not want to take any unnecessary risks.[LNB]As for Wilshere, it will just be a case of shuffling from one area of Arsenal's London Colney training centre to another.[LNB]Gunners boss Arsene Wenger had already declared that Wilshere would not face the Dutch due to an ankle injury which prevented him from travelling to Lisbon for his side's friendly defeat to Benfica on Saturday.[LNB] Ruled out: Carrick's injury hands an England opportunity to Cleverley[LNB]While Capello appeared set to pursue aclub-versus-country row when he selected Wilshere in his 25-man squad on Saturday evening, the Italian has clearly decided that, on the evidence of medical tests, this is not the time to start a row with Wenger.[LNB]In general though, Capello must be relatively pleased with the number of players that remained at England's Watford HQ today.[LNB]Of the 11 who were involved at Wembley, to find 10 are available is a massive success given the scale of previous withdrawals, although he will be acutely aware of the need to take extra care with so little preparation time ahead of that crucialopening round of domestic fixtures.[LNB]For Young it promises to be a particularly significant week after collecting a first winners' medal for his new club and bringing a smile to the face of manager Sir Alex Ferguson.[LNB]'He does have a fear-factor - but he also has an aura,' said Young.[LNB]'He instils it into you that the same mentality has to go onto the pitch with you.[LNB]'There is a real desire not to lose in training or in matches. All players think exactly the same way.'[LNB]At 26, Young could hardly have expected to find himself as the oldest player on the pitch for United once Patrice Evra departed.[LNB] Winning start: Young (centre) starred in Manchester United's Community Shield win over Manchester City [LNB]It is a measure of the rebuilding work Ferguson has carried out over the last two years that that was exactly what happened as the Red Devils surged back from two goals down to claim a 3-2 win and the first piece of silverware for the team Young regards as 'the biggest in the world'.[LNB]'When we went away to America in pre-season you could see the size of the club,' he said.[LNB]'It is everything; the staff, the fan base, the team. I am just delighted to have joined them.'[LNB]Young diplomatically skirted around the issue of Holland midfielder Wesley Sneijder joining United at some point after Wednesday's match.[LNB]'Sneijder has done well throughout his career, for club and country,' said Young. 'But he is an Inter Milan player.'[LNB]However, he reacted with a broad smile when asked whether words had been exchanged with Micah Richards over the City defender's challenge yesterday, which many observers felt would have warranted a red card if it had been a league game.[LNB]'I had a chat with Micah Richards today - and yesterday,' he laughed. 'And I was doing the talking.[LNB]'When you meet up with England, you forget everything although, in any case, as we won, I was happy.'[LNB] CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE FANTASY FOOTBALL GAMEThe future's bright! Sir Alex hails United youngsters after Wembley thriller I've never compared Nani to Ronaldo, insists United boss FergieAll the latest Manchester United news, features and opinion[LNB]
