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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Will Unwin

Josh Harrop: ‘My dream was to play at Old Trafford. If it was only once, that was enough for me’

Josh Harrop
Josh Harrop scored and was named as man of the match in his one and only first team appearance for his boyhood team Manchester United. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

For almost eight years a bottle of champagne has sat with pride of place in Josh Harrop’s house. The cork will, according to the midfielder, never be popped. Instead it will serve as a reminder of how he lived out his dream of making his Manchester United debut at Old Trafford.

Stockport-born Harrop rose through United’s academy before being given his debut aged 21 by José Mourinho. Playing alongside Wayne Rooney and Paul Pogba, Harrop scored the first in a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace to earn the man-of-the-match award. A new three-year deal was on the table but a desire to play regularly prompted him to move to Preston, leaving that 90 minutes in 2017 as his imprint on United history.

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