Boss Hopes For Kiko Break

Sir Alex Ferguson is desperate for a break to fall Federico Macheda's way after loaning the striker to Stuttgart.

Previous moves for the Italian, to Sampdoria and QPR, have seen the club's manager axed shortly afterwards, and injury also cut short his stint at Loftus Road. After Stuttgart won the chase for his signature last week, there are hopes that the Under-21s' top scorer will be able to show his quality and get the regular first-team football he craves.

"I pray for the boy," Sir Alex told MUTV. "I must say with his experience he got at Sampdoria as they sacked the coach when he'd been there a week. The new coach came in and didn't play him. So that was four or five months lost.

"The same thing happened when he went to QPR last season. They sacked the coach and Mark Hughes came in. Of course, Mark had his own ideas about the front players and, once again, for four months, he doesn't play.

"He's been back with us since the summer obviously and he's done well in the Reserves' team and scored a few goals. This is an opportunity to get football at a higher level. It's too good an opportunity to miss."