In a time where football is being dominated by money and VAR, it’s delightful to hear that there are still some heartwarming stories out there.
Manchester United youngster Max Taylor has done well just to get himself playing football on a regular basis again, so being called up for the senior squad for their Europa League trip to Kazakhstan is pretty incredible.
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Journalist Simon Peach tweeted to say he was in the squad despite starting the year undergoing treatment for cancer, and also highlighted some comments he made to MUTV:
#MUFC club media spoke to Max Taylor before the flight to Kazakhstan: “The position I was in this time last year, I was in my first few weeks where I had chemotherapy, I wouldn’t have thought, a year on, I’d be travelling with the first team”
— Simon Peach (@SimonPeach) November 26, 2019
It will depend on the result between AZ Alkmaar and Partizan Belgrade, but a win could be enough to see United top the group and secure a seeded position in the next round of the competition.
Due to the length of the trip and a run of three Premier League games in only seven days, it does seem likely that a lot of the first team stars may be rested or might not even make the trip.
United’s players and fans should be happy to hear that the game will be played in a ground that has a retractable roof. A quick look at the current weather in Astana shows a temperature of minus 11 degrees, so playing outside in that weather would be a horrible experience.
Despite that, you can only imagine that Taylor wouldn’t care what the conditions were if he managed to make his senior debut for the club.