Lessons Learnt For Macheda

Federico Macheda has vowed to learn from the experience of a disappointing loan spell with Sampdoria as he prepares to rejoin the United squad.

The 19-year-old striker opted for a temporary return to his native Italy in January, instead of going on loan to a top-flight English club, but the Genoa side's relegation scrap meant he was used sparingly as the club ultimately failed to avoid the drop from Serie A.

"I really wanted to have an experience in Italy," Macheda admitted to Sky Sport Italia. "But I now hope to stay in the [Barclays] Premier League.

"For a youngster, England is a better place to play. It wasn't easy from a psychological point of view to leave United and join a Sampdoria side who were fighting relegation. It was a delicate situation."

Speaking recently to ManUtd.com, Reserves boss Warren Joyce stressed the need for Macheda to take the positives from the stint away from Old Trafford.

"Sometimes you learn about yourself even when things don’t go well," explained Joyce. "Federico’s had to dig deep.

"I know it’s his home country but he’s been away from Manchester and things have not gone particularly well for him. He’s had to look at himself and time will tell.

"We only had one real meeting out there in Italy, but I’ve had regular dialogue with him on the phone and he sounds up for the challenge and he might have learned from this bad experience.

"Only time will tell. It's now all about how he comes back to United and responds to the challenge."