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Quite how Andy Kellett intends to top this most surreal of seasons is anyone’s guess – but the Bolton-born youngster might feel he still has unfinished business at the Macron Stadium.
A campaign which began in the unglamorous surroundings of AFC Wimbledon’s Kingsmeadow Stadium, playing in League Two for Plymouth, ended in the colours of Manchester United, clutching silverware at Old Trafford and rubbing shoulders with Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and David De Gea.
The 21-year-old’s rise from relative obscurity has been the stuff of comic books, yet he returns to Bolton this summer with a lot still to prove.
Kellett featured for just 51 minutes under Neil Lennon this season, sandwiched between loans of such head-spinning contrast.
He had broken into the team under Dougie Freedman last April, becoming the first true Boltonian to represent the club in eight years, but like many young talents at the time, failed to get a second bite at the cherry under the Scot.
A loan to Plymouth looked at the time like a wise move. Reports from Home Park were encouraging and a stunning goal against Northampton Town in December has thus far warranted more than 200,000 replays on YouTube.
That moment of fame was only a drop in the ocean.
Briefly called back by Wanderers and played in a forgettable night at Rotherham in January as an emergency wing-back, Kellett was heading back out to Devon until a call came out of the blue from ex-Whites star Warren Joyce, now in charge at the United Under-21s.
A long-time admirer of Kellett, who had been in the Bolton system since the age of nine, Joyce wanted to take a closer look and so invited him on loan to Old Trafford.
Being that he was the only deadline day signing made by United, the clamour for more information on the Academy graduate was understandable. Everyone wanted to know: Who is Andy Kellett?
The fairytale was perpetuated when details emerged in The Bolton News of the conversation which led to the shock loan deal.
“Sit down Andy,” said Wanderers first team coach Garry Parker. “We’ve got some good news and some bad news.”
The full-back decided to hear the bad news first.
“You’re not going back to Plymouth,” was the reply.
Steeling himself for the worst, Kellett asked to hear the good news.
“You’re going to Manchester United,” Parker said.
After the initial media circus things calmed down and reports on Kellett from United’s second string were favourable.
He helped the Reds clinch the Under-21 Premier League crown and doubled-up on silverware as Plymouth voted him their young player of the year.
It now remains to be seen whether Joyce will look to bring Kellett back to United next season, or indeed whether Wanderers would stand in his way.
It could yet depend on how Neil Lennon views the future of Saidy Janko, the Swiss youngster who travelled in the opposite direction in January and who is out of contract at Old Trafford this summer.
At present, however, there is no sign of either player making a permanent switch.
Kellett has another 12 months left to run on his deal at Wanderers and is due to report with the rest of the first team squad at the end of June for pre-season training.
Many Whites fans believe he could make an impact for the Whites next season, particularly given the lack of width in Lennon’s squad.
Had the dream move to United not materialised, it is a safe bet he would have seen more first team action in the final few months.
Kellett began as a full-back but was often used in midfield at development squad level, and many feel his ideal position is as a wing-back in a 3-5-2 – one of Lennon’s favoured formations.
If he returns from United as a more matured prospect, then who is to say he could not save the club a few pounds in the transfer market this summer?
Wanderers fans are desperate to see ‘one of their own’ in regular action, and perhaps leading his hometown club to success would be a fitting continuation of what is gradually becoming an incredible tale.
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A campaign which began in the unglamorous surroundings of AFC Wimbledon’s Kingsmeadow Stadium, playing in League Two for Plymouth, ended in the colours of Manchester United, clutching silverware at Old Trafford and rubbing shoulders with Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and David De Gea.
The 21-year-old’s rise from relative obscurity has been the stuff of comic books, yet he returns to Bolton this summer with a lot still to prove.
Kellett featured for just 51 minutes under Neil Lennon this season, sandwiched between loans of such head-spinning contrast.
He had broken into the team under Dougie Freedman last April, becoming the first true Boltonian to represent the club in eight years, but like many young talents at the time, failed to get a second bite at the cherry under the Scot.
A loan to Plymouth looked at the time like a wise move. Reports from Home Park were encouraging and a stunning goal against Northampton Town in December has thus far warranted more than 200,000 replays on YouTube.
That moment of fame was only a drop in the ocean.
Briefly called back by Wanderers and played in a forgettable night at Rotherham in January as an emergency wing-back, Kellett was heading back out to Devon until a call came out of the blue from ex-Whites star Warren Joyce, now in charge at the United Under-21s.
A long-time admirer of Kellett, who had been in the Bolton system since the age of nine, Joyce wanted to take a closer look and so invited him on loan to Old Trafford.
Being that he was the only deadline day signing made by United, the clamour for more information on the Academy graduate was understandable. Everyone wanted to know: Who is Andy Kellett?
The fairytale was perpetuated when details emerged in The Bolton News of the conversation which led to the shock loan deal.
“Sit down Andy,” said Wanderers first team coach Garry Parker. “We’ve got some good news and some bad news.”
The full-back decided to hear the bad news first.
“You’re not going back to Plymouth,” was the reply.
Steeling himself for the worst, Kellett asked to hear the good news.
“You’re going to Manchester United,” Parker said.
After the initial media circus things calmed down and reports on Kellett from United’s second string were favourable.
He helped the Reds clinch the Under-21 Premier League crown and doubled-up on silverware as Plymouth voted him their young player of the year.
It now remains to be seen whether Joyce will look to bring Kellett back to United next season, or indeed whether Wanderers would stand in his way.
It could yet depend on how Neil Lennon views the future of Saidy Janko, the Swiss youngster who travelled in the opposite direction in January and who is out of contract at Old Trafford this summer.
At present, however, there is no sign of either player making a permanent switch.
Kellett has another 12 months left to run on his deal at Wanderers and is due to report with the rest of the first team squad at the end of June for pre-season training.
Many Whites fans believe he could make an impact for the Whites next season, particularly given the lack of width in Lennon’s squad.
Had the dream move to United not materialised, it is a safe bet he would have seen more first team action in the final few months.
Kellett began as a full-back but was often used in midfield at development squad level, and many feel his ideal position is as a wing-back in a 3-5-2 – one of Lennon’s favoured formations.
If he returns from United as a more matured prospect, then who is to say he could not save the club a few pounds in the transfer market this summer?
Wanderers fans are desperate to see ‘one of their own’ in regular action, and perhaps leading his hometown club to success would be a fitting continuation of what is gradually becoming an incredible tale.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]