Premier stars recall their roots

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Two former Crewe Alexandra stars have paid tribute to their previous club following recent dream moves into the Premier League.

"When I first came on it scared me a little bit" - Nick Powell

Striker Nick Powell marked his top-flight debut with a stunning 25-yard goal for Manchester United in a 4-0 victory against Wigan Athletic last week. That followed his £6m move to Old Trafford after sixteen goals for the Alex on their way to promotion last season.

"Dario Gradi used to say my game isn't just attacking and defending, it's about goals as well, and I proved that last season," Powell commented in This is Staffordshire. "Hopefully I can do that for United too. When I first came on it scared me a little bit, to be fair, because I'm only used to 5,000 people now and then, but it's a great atmosphere."

Meanwhile, his former Gresty Road colleague Ashley Westwood also took his Premier League bow following a £2m switch to Aston Villa on transfer deadline day.

The 22-year-old was hoping to achieve the same kind of succes discovered by another ex-Crewe midfielder David Platt, who followed the very same path to Villa Park nearly a quarter of a century ago.

"I'll be happy if I can get near the level David reached," he said. "I've been told what a great player he was for Villa. It's something I'll have to take on my shoulders if that is the challenge people are setting for me."

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