Sylvan Ebanks-Blake is a model of perseverance. Rather than letting the broken leg he sustained in February get him down, he studied his own game, improved and returned stronger.

Last time out in the Carling Cup, the 19-year-old Cambridge-born striker capped a lively full debut with a goal in the 4-1 win over Barnet. And, as he told United Review, he’s hungry for more.

What did that first goal for Manchester United mean to you?
It was brilliant. It was the best experience of my career - of my life - so far. It’s difficult to put into words how much it means to score a goal for United. It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do. It was a great feeling seeing the ball nestle in the back of the net. I’ve scored at Old Trafford for the Reserves before, but to do it for the first team on my full debut is an experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

You and Giuseppe Rossi have been scoring a lot in the Reserves. Can we take it that you enjoy playing together?
We’ve got an understanding, where we know what the other is thinking. It’s a completely natural thing. We’ve not worked on it or tried to force it. It just happened. I remember the first game we played together – against Bolton for the Reserves – the partnership clicked straight away. I’ve not had that with another striker before. The main thing we have in common is that we love scoring. We’re doing that at the moment, and that’s all we want to do.

The young players looked so confident against Barnet. Where has that attitude come from, do you think?
There’s just something about the players at this club. Everyone has a confidence about them. Nobody is afraid to play football, from the defence up to the forwards, from the youngest