- Powell reflects on struggles at Man Utd
- Now at Stockport in League Two
- Forward held talks with Wrexham
WHAT HAPPENED? Powell joined United from Crewe as an 18-year-old in 2012 but he played just nine times, and scored only once before leaving for Wigan in 2016. The attacking midfielder, who can also play up front, left Stoke City earlier this summer and is now awaiting his Stockport County debut after signing a three-year deal with The Hatters. Now, he has opened up on his tough spell at Old Trafford, what he did wrong there, and how close he was to joining Wrexham instead of Stockport this summer.
WHAT THEY SAID?: The 29-year-old told Sport Bible: "I didn't care about my diet until I was 25. I remember at Crewe, I used to eat McDonald's after every game because McDonald's was around the corner. When I went to United, I didn't know how to cook so I used to have Domino's every day. I'd get to a point in my apartment where, I'm not joking, there'd be 15 boxes of Domino's stacked up. I'd be standing there like, 'Oh right, I best put these out in the bin'. But yeah, like I said, that's laziness. It's not professional. If you're that in love with football, and that in love with getting better, you either pay for a chef or learn to cook. I'm the tightest man alive so I'm thinking, 'I'm not paying someone to cook me some food in my own house'.
"I've always been labelled as someone with a bad attitude. And it wasn't that. I just wasn’t professional enough. I didn't know what was needed. I never had the mindset of wanting to be the best. My mindset was, get me on a Saturday and I'll hopefully do something good. Until the age of 25, my whole career was trying to find the biggest shortcut possible to make sure I could still play football."
Before Powell joined Stockport, he held talks with fellow fourth tier side Wrexham but ended up joining Dave Challinor's team after nearly two months of being a free agent following his departure from Stoke City.
"I had a chat [with Wrexham]," he added. "It was a really good chat. I'd never say anything bad about somebody that showed interest in me. I think that's just nice within itself. The conversation was good. I've got my reasons [joining Stockport]. And I still stand by them."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: United signed Powell for an initial £3 million after he scored 16 goals in 45 matches to help Crewe earn promotion to League One. Despite former manager Sir Alex Ferguson once calling him an "exceptional talent", things never worked out for Powell at the Premier League giants. During his time at Old Trafford he was sent on loan at Wigan, Leicester City, and Hull City, and he joined the Latics on a free transfer in 2016.
IN TWO PHOTOS:
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GettyWHAT NEXT? Powell could make his Stockport debut against Bradford City on Tuesday night in League Two, while Wrexham are set to host Walsall.