'I joined Man Utd in deadline day transfer - and got embarrassed on first day'

01 February 2024 , 10:08

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Andy Kellett made a number of appearances for Manchester United's under-21 side but none for the first team (Image: Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)

Going into transfer deadline day in January 2015, Andy Kellett was anticipating a move to League Two Plymouth Argyle, but instead ended up at Manchester United.

Kellett, who had spent time on loan at Plymouth in the first half of the season, was back at parent club Bolton and had started their Championship loss at Rotherham a few days before deadline day. Argyle were keen on bringing him back to Home Park, but it didn't quite work out that way.

United's first summer under Louis van Gaal was a busy one, with more than £100million splashed out on the likes of Luke Shaw, Ander Herrera and new club record signing Angel di Maria. January was quieter, with goalkeeper Victor Valdes joining on a free early in the window, though few saw the Kellett deal coming.

Kellett's United stint was short-lived, with Wigan making a summer swoop. His time at Old Trafford didn't get off to the best of starts, either, with £59.7m flop Di Maria embarrassing him with a quick lesson about the quality of the players in his midst.

"On most of the training days lads like myself would go over to the first-team whenever they needed bodies," Kellett told The Star, explaining the Plymouth move had been "agreed" before United came calling. "So I trained with them quite a lot. And when the first-team had games, the lads who weren't in the squad would drop down to the 23s, so there was always a lot of experience in training.

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"Obviously the standard was very good," and "I've always said this to people, though; I don't know whether it was the surfaces or playing with better players, but it felt a lot easier than playing in the lower leagues where it's a bit more like pinball."

He also opened up about an embarrassing early moment which ultimately made it easier for him to settle. "I remember my first training session. I got nutmegged by Angel Di Maria," he said. "Obviously it was a bit of a thing because it was my first day. Everyone gave me a bit of banter, and, to be fair, I'm glad it happened because it made me relax. That stands out!"

What is the most surprising deadline day signing you remember? Let us know in the comments section

Angel di Maria embarrassed Andy Kellett on his first day at Manchester United (Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)

Kellett, a left-back, never got a first-team opportunity at United. He did play nine times in Premier League 2, though, including against a Manchester City side including future Premier League players Kelechi Iheanacho and Angelino.

Now 30 years old, Kellett has endured a tough time with injuries in the decade since his surprise United move. He has dropped down to non-league, where he's aiming to help Bury mount a promotion push in the North West Counties Premier.

There was one regret from that stint at United, despite Kellett getting a lot out of his experience. "The only thing is, I never really felt like there was an opportunity to play for the first team"" he said.

"The year after they had quite a few injuries. I think Cameron Borthwick-Jackson ended up playing a few games and he was an under 18 while I was there. Maybe, if it had happened a year later, I might have had an opportunity."

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Tom Victor