over the years Manchester United have
completed a lot of questionable
transfers but one stands above all
others because in 2015 the club signed a
player who now is not yet 30 but is
already a semi-professional part-time
footballer playing in the ninth tier of
English football
[Music]
it was February 2015. Andy Killer's
first day at Manchester United I was
surrounded by all of these unbelievably
brilliant players I was new and Angel Di
Maria introduced himself by nutmegging
me all the lads were laughing and I was
too I was glad he did it because it
broke the ice and after that I never
felt out of place there in 2015 kellett
a left-sided fullback or Wing back was a
21 year old Academy product from Bolton
Wanderers playing on loan for Plymouth
Argyle in League two when the news came
through that the 20-time champions of
England wanted to sign him on loan I
thought it was a bit strange I went in
to see Neil Lennon the manager at Bolton
and he just came out with it how would
you feel about going to Manchester
United I was taken aback because I knew
that going from being on Loan in League
2 to Manchester United was a hell of a
jump but I didn't see it as a joke
because I was playing really well at the
time Keller can remember the night that
Jim White presenting the deadline Day
special on Sky Sports announced his move
to Old Trafford to a live television
audience there were people thinking they
they must have gotten it mistaken and
that it was Sheffield United not
Manchester United my phone was going mad
there were a lot of messages wishing me
well but also a lot of my mates asking
where has that come from how have you
kept that secret his first game at Old
Trafford was for United's under-23s
against Tottenham Hotspur reader Mel
falcau was playing so was Victor Valdez
a three-time Champions League winner now
a lot of players in kellett's position
might have been overwhelmed but kellett
held his own on the training ground he
didn't speak too often with Louis van
Gaal during a season in which kellett
helped United to win the under-23s
Premier League but he knew that Warren
Joyce the under-23s manager wanted to
keep him on Joyce had been instrumental
in getting him to Old Trafford in the
first place with United's Sadie Yanko
moving to Bolton on loan at the same
time however there was a problem kellett
had been in Bolton's junior system since
the age of eight and that meant that
United would have had to pay 13 years of
compensation if they wanted to sign in
properly I don't know how much it would
have been kellett remembers but we used
to have a laugh about it on the coach
yanazai Pereira and some of the other
Lads wanted me to stay on we'll pay it
they used to shout down and that gave me
confidence too because I knew they liked
me instead khalik returned to Bolton
without making a first team appearance
for United and was promptly sold to
Wigan Athletic in ligue one he
eventually dropped down another division
to Chesterfield he was part of Knox
County's Squad when they were relegated
from the English football league for the
first time in their history in 2019 and
since then he's been playing football at
non-league level culminating in him
looking at occupations outside of the
sport he's worked as a roofer and for 18
months as a job controller for BT
Enterprise the 8am start and the
commuting to Manchester City Center
Every Morning has been a massive culture
change as has the adjustment to office
life to talk about his career he met
with the Athletics Daniel Taylor at
Salford Sports Village where Berry train
in the evenings and where he's a popular
member of the dressing room smiling
teammates constantly interrupted the
interview to come over and greet him
Keller did show some glimpses of regret
his career post United had been hampered
by injuries including a knee problem
that even hampered his roofing work
while he was with geisley in the seventh
tier Keller had to get used to the idea
that his time in professional football
was probably up
it can be hard because when I look back
at the start of my career having that
time at Manchester United winning young
Player of the Year at Plymouth and
helping Wigan win promotion that was all
before I turned 23. for the last five or
six years I've just felt like I'm
falling and falling and falling he
wonders sometimes whether it might have
been better for his career if he'd
stayed at Plymouth plus he will always
look back on his time at Old Trafford
and wonder what might have been if those
Whirlwind few months described by the
Manchester Evening News as one of the
most bizarre United transfers in recent
memory had led to anything more
substantial Luke Shaw and Marcus Rocco
both got injured the season after he
left and Louis van Gaal gave a chance to
Cameron Borthwick Jackson who was
playing for the under-18s I do look back
sometimes and wonder whether it might
have been me getting that opportunity he
says the only thing I would change is
that I wish I'd put myself out there a
little bit more I wish I'd had a bit
more bottle to speak to the manager or
ask the first team players about their
experiences I gave everything I trained
100 every day I looked after myself and
every time I put on the shirt I know
that I played really well
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thank you