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<TR><TD colspan="3"><DIV class=mxb><DIV class=sh>Doubts raised in US over Adu move </DIV></DIV></TD></TR><TR><TD width="416" valign="top"><DIV class=mvb><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=416 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=bottom><DIV class=mvb><SPAN class=byl>By Matt Slater </SPAN></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
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<DIV class=cap>A wonderfully balanced dribbler, Adu has match-winning potential</DIV></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Los Angeles Galaxy boss Alexi Lalas has warned Freddy Adu about the risks of making "the wrong move" overseas.
Adu, 17, is training with Manchester United but Lalas is worried the Premiership might not be right for him.
"He is a wonderful talent but I worry about his size. He needs to go to the appropriate team," said Lalas.
"If he goes to the wrong team he will get swallowed up on and off the pitch - it will be a waste of time. He's not a player that can adapt to anything."
Adu, who plays for American team DC United, started a two-week stint with the Premiership leaders' Academy team on Monday, and Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has already expressed a desire to sign the teenager if he proves himself.
"I think we would be interested, he's only young but we have known of him for a long time," said Ferguson earlier this month.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=208 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=5>
</TD><TD class=sib606><DIV class=sihf>606: DEBATE </DIV><DIV><DIV class=mva><DIV id=q1></DIV>I hope he comes to Old Trafford as we have a history of grooming players and letting them mature into their positions <DIV id=q2></DIV><BR clear=all></DIV></DIV><DIV class=mva><DIV class=mva>MT</DIV></DIV><DIV class=ibqlinks><DIV class=arr>606: Have your say </DIV></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
"We tried to get him here some years ago but he signed for DC United and that stopped the progress of us keeping tabs on him."
Adu, who will be available for transfer when he turns 18 next June, has made clear his wish to leave Major League Soccer for a bigger challenge and a number of top European teams have been linked with the Ghanaian-born sensation.
"My ultimate goal is to go overseas and if it comes sooner rather than later I'll take it," said Adu after DC United's season-ending defeat to New England two weeks ago.
But former US star Lalas, the only American to play in Italy's Serie A, is concerned a move to a club of Manchester United's size is too much too soon for Adu.
This is a view supported by Adu's current manager, former Polish international Peter Nowak.
"I think he'd like to go to somewhere he's not only going to play but also develop in the right way," said Nowak, who was teenage sensation himself in Poland before moving to teams in Germany, Switzerland, Turkey and ultimately America.
"(But) I don't think the clubs with the highest budget in the world will wait for Freddy to develop - they can buy another player
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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><DIV>
<DIV class=cap>A wonderfully balanced dribbler, Adu has match-winning potential</DIV></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Los Angeles Galaxy boss Alexi Lalas has warned Freddy Adu about the risks of making "the wrong move" overseas. Adu, 17, is training with Manchester United but Lalas is worried the Premiership might not be right for him.
"He is a wonderful talent but I worry about his size. He needs to go to the appropriate team," said Lalas.
"If he goes to the wrong team he will get swallowed up on and off the pitch - it will be a waste of time. He's not a player that can adapt to anything."
Adu, who plays for American team DC United, started a two-week stint with the Premiership leaders' Academy team on Monday, and Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has already expressed a desire to sign the teenager if he proves himself.
"I think we would be interested, he's only young but we have known of him for a long time," said Ferguson earlier this month.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=208 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=5>
</TD><TD class=sib606><DIV class=sihf>606: DEBATE </DIV><DIV><DIV class=mva><DIV id=q1></DIV>I hope he comes to Old Trafford as we have a history of grooming players and letting them mature into their positions <DIV id=q2></DIV><BR clear=all></DIV></DIV><DIV class=mva><DIV class=mva>MT</DIV></DIV><DIV class=ibqlinks><DIV class=arr>606: Have your say </DIV></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>"We tried to get him here some years ago but he signed for DC United and that stopped the progress of us keeping tabs on him."
Adu, who will be available for transfer when he turns 18 next June, has made clear his wish to leave Major League Soccer for a bigger challenge and a number of top European teams have been linked with the Ghanaian-born sensation.
"My ultimate goal is to go overseas and if it comes sooner rather than later I'll take it," said Adu after DC United's season-ending defeat to New England two weeks ago.
But former US star Lalas, the only American to play in Italy's Serie A, is concerned a move to a club of Manchester United's size is too much too soon for Adu.
This is a view supported by Adu's current manager, former Polish international Peter Nowak.
"I think he'd like to go to somewhere he's not only going to play but also develop in the right way," said Nowak, who was teenage sensation himself in Poland before moving to teams in Germany, Switzerland, Turkey and ultimately America.
"(But) I don't think the clubs with the highest budget in the world will wait for Freddy to develop - they can buy another player
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