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Ghana-born England youth John Cofie has been told by Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson that he fits into his future plans at Old Trafford. The former Burnley trainee has just broken into the U18 team this season at United and Ferguson, reflecting on his young strikers said: "We're very fortunate at the moment; we�ve got Macheda, Welbeck, King and young John Cofie, who is in our youth team. It�s looking really good for young strikers, and it�s been a long, long time since we�ve had so many strikers coming through at the club." Like last year, winning the Carling Cup is a definite target, but it is also vital as a finishing school for Ferguson's up-and-coming starlets. "It�s a good tournament for young players," he told MUTV. "They must have this challenge, the experience of playing at Old Trafford in front of 50,000 fans. It was a good crowd for a Wednesday night in the first round of the League Cup." The 16-year-old born in Aboso, Ghana, Cofie is eligible to play for three national sides - his homeland, Germany and England, but has chosen the latter and has been regularly called up for international duty at youth level.