'Quite good' was how Sir Alex Ferguson described a promising young winger in the minutes before his Manchester United side faced Sporting Lisbon in a pre-season friendly some 20 years ago.
United's trip to Portugal was shoehorned into a Thursday night at the start of August, between a friendly against Barcelona and the Community Shield meeting with Arsenal.
They had been in New York the day before and stepped into the Jose Alvalade Stadium with a likely hint of jet lag. The occasion held far more weight for Sporting, as shown by the 3-1 home scoreline at full-time.
But for one young star the friendly was his audition for what would prove one of the most significant transfers in United's history. Want to join our MUFC Pro club for a totally ad-free version of the MEN’s Man United app packed with premium features?