Like any parent, waving my son Charlie off on his half-season loan to Forest Green Rovers was a proud moment.
What an opportunity for him to step up from under-21 level and compete for three points every week with players whose mortgages and livelihoods depend on winning football matches.
It’s a chance for a 19-year-old to show he can handle the pressure, how brave he is on the ball and coping with the hostility he might face at times. When the move was first mooted, Charlie went to watch Forest Green’s narrow 1-0 defeat at Bolton in midweek. Since then, Duncan Ferguson has been appointed as head coach at the New Lawn.
It is fair to say Ferguson sometimes had a fearsome reputation as a player, but as a coach you could see the way his players responded to his passion and knowledge when he held the fort at Everton. It’s a great opportunity for him as well.
I couldn’t be prouder of the way Charlie has gone about his career. He made his Manchester United debut in the Champions League last season and created a good impression on their pre-season tour. But after playing 50 games at Premier League 2 level, he has reached the stage where you have to step up and test yourself.
Instead of age-group football, where the real purpose is to prepare lads for the first team, he will be involved in games which determine the mood of fans, managers, coaches and players every weekend. It’s real football where the results will affect people’s lives.
Will we see Charlie Savage as a Manchester United regular in the future? Have your say in the comments!
I will be going to watch Forest Green’s game at Shrewsbury on Saturday in the hope he will make his League debut in some shape or form. But Charlie knows he has no God-given right to walk into somebody else’s club and expect special treatment. He will have to earn his place.
A lot of people wonder how the loan system works, and it’s not as simple as picking up the phone to another team’s manager and asking if you can borrow their player as a favour. You register your interest on a platform and there’s usually a loan fee involved. Chelsea paid £9million to Atletico Madrid just for the privilege of borrowing Joao Felix for five months, plus his wages on top.
Loan fees are often linked to how many appearances the player makes; some parent clubs will insist on their assets playing in at least 75 per cent of games, or the fee goes higher.
Then the club releasing their player on loan will do a recon to make sure where he will be staying and his lifestyle will be comfortable, and then the relevant parties meet face to face. United academy manager Nick Cox and technical director Darren Fletcher are fantastic in their monitoring of the club’s youngsters. They will have done their homework and approved every aspect of Charlie’s move.
People say your first loan move is the hardest because it’s a bit like a bird flying the nest. And clubs can be reluctant to take young kids on a first loan because they don’t know if they can handle the pressure or the change of environment.
But David Beckham took his first steps in first-team football on loan at Preston, and the favourable impression he made there set him in good stead to become a legend. He went on to win the treble at United.
And I’m as sure as I can be that Charlie will make the most of his opportunity because he’s already come through adversity – from trying to sustain his career through a pandemic to the pressure of being the son of a footballer who is expected to be one of the best players on the pitch.
Playing for Ferguson will be a fantastic experience for him and it’s a chance for him to show what he can do in senior football.
I’m sure he will make the most of it and return to Old Trafford a better player - and a better person - for the experience of playing in games which will affect the outlook of a whole community.
