Sheffield United youngster praised by Manchester City midfielder, on loan at Lane
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The teenager enters tomorrow afternoon’s game meeting with Blackburn Rovers on the back of an impressive performance during Wednesday night’s FA Cup victory over Tottenham Hotspur - a result which means United will shortly meet Jon Dahl Tomasson’s side again in the quarter-finals.
Making his full senior debut before being replaced by eventual match-winner Iliman Ndiaye, Brooks covered acres of ground in order to prevent the Premier League’s fourth ranked side from establishing control of the game. But it was his composure which impressed fellow midfielder Tommy Doyle the most, prompting the England under-21 international to admit he had been taken aback by Brooks’ potential.
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Hide Ad“I didn’t know anything about him really,” said Doyle, on loan from Manchester City. “I’ve never really played against him in academies or anything like that and so this is the first time I’ve really been aware of him.
“He’s clearly a really gifted footballer, one who works really hard and that helped us on and off the ball. But the things that really stood out for me, the thing that really made a difference, was the composure he showed when he was passing. He did himself proud.”
MORE: Boss on Brooks
The challenge facing Brooks now, and also manager Paul Heckingbottom, is ensuring the publicity generated by his display in midweek does not distract him from the task of continuing to improve. After witnessing Brooks’ latest display, Heckingbottom pointedly spoke about the need for him to operate within a “framework” rather than become a “free” but potentially costly “spirit”.
Asked if reaching the later stages of the cup can benefit United’s performances in the league - they travel to Lancashire ranked second in the table, two places above Rovers - Doyle replied: “One hundred percent. Every game is a game to improve in and put yourself out there. That’s what we did (against Spurs) and to beat a team like them, it was unbelievable to be a part of it.”