Manchester United's 'young kids' to get a taste of European football in Astana

One of the youngest ever Manchester United squads, featuring 16 academy graduates, set off on the six-hour flight for their longest European journey a full two days before Thursday's Europa League match against FC Astana.

The 3,000 kilometre trip took them 1,000km further east than Volgograd, where United played in the equivalent competition in 1995. With temperatures forecast to be minus 12, it’s also likely to be the coldest venue, though in the indoor Astana Arena the temperature will be milder.

United can afford to send a very young squad since they’ve already qualified as leaders of a group from which Astana have been eliminated.

The game's result is not meaningful, yet intriguing for the 1,000 travelling fans on the club’s first visit to the world’s 12th largest country. United have paid the travel costs for most of the supporters after the club’s travel partner Thomas Cook went into liquidation, though many of the fans had already booked their own travel independently.

It also offers younger players a chance of European football – and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side is extremely young.

Goalkeeper Matej Kovar, defenders Ethan Laird, Teden Mengi, Max Taylor, Di’shon Bernard, Brandon Williams, midfielders James Garner, Dylan Levitt, Ethan Galbraith and forwards Tahith Chong, Angel Gomes, D’Mani Bughail-Mellor, Largie Ramazani and Mason Greenwood are familiar to each other but could mostly walk through the streets of Manchester without being recognised.

All three of United’s goalscorers last Sunday against Sheffield United were 22 or under – yet on Thursday United’s entire side could be under 23 and 10 of the players in the squad have yet to make their first team debut.

Taylor playing would be the most poignant. In 2018 he was diagnosed with testicular cancer and put his career on hold as he underwent a successful course of chemotherapy treatment. He made his first performance back for United’s under 23s last month.

He is determined that he will not let cancer define him and wants to show other sufferers that it is possible to dream.

"I always had a mindset of that there's no way I'm not going to be alive after this," said Taylor. "But there were times where I thought 'will I be able to play football after this?' And there were times where I thought there's no way I can get back to that.

"But I think the message that I want to get out to everyone is it is possible – and it is possible to do more than what I've done after you've gone through such trauma. It is possible to get back wherever you want to go.

"There's a lot of people out there who think, like I did, that people only remember them for having cancer. They'd be like 'ah, that's what you've done, you're amazing to get out of that'.

"But I think the message is that you can be more than that – and I want to be more than that. Yeah, it's a part of me and I'm not going to hide from it. But that's what it is: it's a part of me, it doesn't define me."

'It's a fantastic story, to see him coming back," said Solskjaer. "He's been through something no-one should have to go through but he's come through the other end, and he's an inspiration to others.

"There's no fear on the pitch, he's had fear in his life. When you're on the football pitch you should have no fear and it's a chance to give him extra motivation as well."

“It’s common sense,” said Solskjaer of bringing the young players to Astana. “It’s hard to give the young kids enough games against men. This is a chance to see them all together.”

The capital of Kazakhstan is further east than the UAE. Europe is separated from Asia by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus mountains but only 12 per cent of the oil rich former Soviet country is in Europe. Kazakhstani teams played under the Asian Football Confederation until 2002 when they resigned to join UEFA after lobbying that as only three per cent of Turkey was in Europe and they had membership, they too had the right.

They had money to invest in new stadia and coaches, but it hasn’t quite gone to plan and they didn’t win any of their 10 qualifying games for the 2018 World Cup finals in neighbouring Russia.

For Astana, whose Icelandic playmaker Runar Mar Sigurjonsson is a lifelong United fan, it will be the final home game of a European run which involved eight games before the group stage started.

“There’s a lot of travel at this club,” said Sigurjonsson ahead of the biggest game in Astana’s history.

At least he can rest afterwards for they’re out of European competition for this season. United, however, still need points from their final two games to confirm top spot and a more favourable draw.

The final match is at home to AZ Alkmaar in two weeks with United aiming for another Europa League trophy as a way into next season’s Champions League.

Jose Mourinho was confident as he played a tactical master class to overcome Ajax in the final. This current United team would do well to emulate that and have a long way, literally, to get there.