Middlesbrough’s Matt Crooks excited by prospect of playing at Old Trafford

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Manchester United return to action on Friday night in the FA Cup fourth round, when Middlesbrough are the visitors to Old Trafford.

The tournament represents United’s most realistic chance of silverware this season but it will also be a huge night for Chris Wilder and his players.

Wilder led Sheffield United to victory at Old Trafford last January, and Boro won at the Theatre of Dreams in the 2016 EFL Cup.

Boro midfielder Matt Crooks grew up as a United fan and has told the Northern Echo that the match will be the biggest of his career, if selected.

“Hopefully I play but you never know until you get the team sheet. I’m looking forward to it. It’s definitely going to be the biggest game of my career. Laid in bed last night thinking ‘am I going to play? I’ve been going to the matches since I was a little boy,” said Crooks.

“I saw [Wayne] Rooney, [Carlos] Tevez, [Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Paul] Scholes, [Roy] Keane, all those guys so it would be a dream come true for me to play at Old Trafford. Obviously it’s not for United but it’s still at Old Trafford against them so it will be a big thing for me.

“But if I do play, it’s one of those things where I don’t want to be in awe of my surroundings. It’s still a big game and we’ve got to go there with the thought that we can win the game. It will probably be a bit surreal. I’m used to watching them on TV. If I had the chance to go up against him (Ronaldo), I think that would probably be the biggest thing.

“I want to be excited but I don’t want to hype it up too much and not focus on the match in hand. I’m not used to playing the likes of [Paul] Pogba and Ronaldo. It’s a challenge where I hope they get put out and one I can look forward to. I was visualising that last night in bed. I won’t lie. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t.”

Ronaldo was ruled out of the match against Aston Villa in the previous round through injury, and so was Pogba.

The Portuguese superstar may be rested with a hectic fixture schedule ahead, but Rangnick also needs to pick a team capable of keeping the momentum going.

Pogba is back in training after months out injured and could make his comeback in this game. It would be a surprise to see him start, but he could come on depending on the state of the game.

Either way, it is clear that it would be a huge night for Crooks if he gets selected. He has started every single one of Boro’s league matches this season but was on the bench in Round Three against Mansfield.

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