Telford student Luke’s dream day as he meets his Manchester United football heroes

Luke, 19, from The Rock, who is a huge Manchester United fan – is on a BTEC in media level three course at Telford College’s Haybridge campus.

He was invited to visit the club’s Carrington training ground by the Willow Foundation, a charity which specialises in granting special days for seriously ill young adults.

Luke suffers from a genetic form of muscle wasting disease called duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Luke found out about the organisation from one of his support workers and filled in an application form on the Willow website.

During Luke’s day, he got chance to meet and chat with some of Manchester United’s biggest stars, including Paul Pogba, David de Gea, Michael Carrick, Chris Smalling, Juan Mata and Luke Shaw.

Luke asked Paul Pogba about his favourite goal of all-time, and the French star replied: “It was when I was playing for Juventus and I scored against Udinese in the Italian Serie A.”

Luke said: “I had an amazing day, and it was a massive opportunity and pleasure meeting the players from my favourite team. It will be a day I will never forget.

“I would like to say a special thank you to Willow the charity that granted my special day and to Telford College for supporting the trip.”

The Willow Foundation is a national charity established in 1999 by former Arsenal goalkeeper and TV sports presenter Bob Wilson and his wife Megs, as a lasting memorial to their daughter, Anna, who died of cancer aged 31.

It is dedicated to bringing special days to the seriously ill between the ages 16 and 40 in the United Kingdom.

Find out more at willowfoundation.org.uk