Former Manchester United defender Michele Fornasier has spoken of how his time at the club helped him develop personally and professionally.
Fornasier moved to the Red Devils academy from Fiorentina in 2009 and he spent four years with the club before leaving for Sampdoria on a free transfer.
In that time, he didn't make a senior appearance for United, but the Italy youth international believes the move did help set him up for a career in football elsewhere.
"It was an incredible experience," he told Tuttocalciopuglia (h/t Sport Witness ). "It formed me as a man and as a player: as an environment, it’s probably the best to develop young people. I learned and studied from the best and tried to be like them."
In Manchester he made 39 appearances for the Under-23s and was also part of the team that lifted the FA Youth Cup in 2011.
While he moved to Sampdoria in 2013, Fornasier's best spell since leaving United came with Pescara, where he played for four years. Since then he has struggled for game time at a succession of clubs, including Venezia, Trapani, Parma and Cremonese.
Now 28, this week Fornasier moved to Serie C outfit Monopoli on a free transfer.
