Manchester United think they have completed another transfer coup with Willy Kambwala
April 2018. It is matchday and the Old Trafford concourse is a hive of activity outside the east stand. It is wet again in Manchester but United supporters are singing in the rain after delaying Manchester City's title win with a coruscating comeback at the Etihad the previous week.
West Brom, destined for relegation, are in town and United have to win to extend City's wait. Fans and tourists are framing the money shot of the Sir Matt Busby statue, positioned proudly in front of the sleeping giant he roused. Others are drawn to the Trinity statue Busby smiles at opposite him.
A group of French teenagers from Les Ulis, a semi-professional team 24 kilometres south-west of Paris, gawp in awe at Best, Law and Charlton. One of them tells a teammate that one day he will return to play for United.
The kids watch United lose a scrappy contest and their compatriots are subdued: Paul Pogba is substituted to avoid a dismissal and his replacement, Anthony Martial, is ineffectual. City are champions and United are goaded by the West Brom Twitter account.
Martial does not forget his obligation, though. His shirt adorns the clubhouse at Les Ulis and he has invited members of the Under-15s team over. They leave with Megastore bags stuffed with shirts and signed Martial cards.
Two-and-a-half years later, the kid who vowed to return is back; a Gary Neville throw-in away from the Trinity statue, inside Hotel Football, overlooking Old Trafford. Inside the stadium, Tottenham are trouncing United, but in the hotel a teenager cannot stop grinning. Willy Kambwala has just signed for United.
A French captain, Spaniards from Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid and an England international from Manchester City is the kind of transfer window
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