10 months ago
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OLD habits die hard, as Luton star Teden Mengi discovered.
The 21-year-old made the tough decision to leave Manchester United after 15 years when he joined the Hatters in August.
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Mengi’s mum would take three buses to bring him to training at his boyhood clubGettyBut when he made his first return to Old Trafford with Luton Town back in November his sub-conscious was not used to the idea — and he headed for the HOME dressing room.
Mengi laughed and said: “I was just so used to going into that side, it was wired into me and I forgot I was playing for Luton!
“It was a special day. I called United home for a very long time. They are still my family.”
Football began for Mengi as a fun diversion from growing up in the tough Manchester district of Clayton.
He revealed: “There’s a lot of violence, gangs and stuff. My mum was protective and kept us out of that sort of lifestyle.
“Whatever dreams or goals we had, she supported us — tennis for my sisters, football for me and my younger brother.
“She didn’t have a driver’s licence so she’d take us on two or three buses each way to training.
“Once I started getting a bit of recognition, I wouldn’t say it puffed my chest out but people would start to not bother me or my family.
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“They would leave us alone because they knew I was going down a different route in life.”
Mengi got plenty of recognition, being made captain of United’s Under-23s.
But at 18 he was hit by the first of a series of hamstring injuries that would wreck his progress at the Red Devils, as well as stop him making the most of loan spells under Wayne Rooney at Derby and Lee Bowyer at Birmingham.
Mengi said: “It was a very dark time for me. I felt on my own. The only people you would see and talk to day to day was the physios.”
Mengi made two senior appearances for United, as a substitute in European games under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and interim boss Ralf Rangnick.
He has no quarrel with current manager Erik ten Hag, but it became clear in the summer he needed to leave.
Mengi said: “There wasn’t really a conversation between me and Ten Hag. It was a conversation between me and myself. I just knew that my time there was coming to an end.
“There wasn’t a pathway for me into that United team.”
Choosing Luton, a club he knew little about, was the “biggest gamble” among Mengi’s options.
It has paid off, in spades. Mengi said: “That happiness of playing football again, doing what you love again, came back almost instantly.
“It’s very much a family environment. I hadn’t felt so connected before, not only to a group of players but also to everyone at the club.”
An early connection came with Tom Lockyer — even if it did not register with Mengi immediately that he was talking to the 29-year-old club captain who collapsed in the 2023 Championship play-off final with a heart problem.
Mengi said: “When I arrived, Tom was still recovering from what happened to him
“It was, ‘Who is this guy who keeps asking me questions? How are you, how are you settling in, where are you living, have you found anywhere to move in to?’
“I didn’t realise that was the club captain. Once I had a proper conversation with him, I knew!
“When he eventually got back in the team, he would help me any way he could.
“I knew if I ever had any queries or didn’t know what to do, I could go to Locks and he would help me straightaway.”
But when Lockyer was struck down by a cardiac arrest during December’s trip to Bournemouth, Mengi and his team-mates did not have their usual source of support.
Mengi said: “It was a real scary moment. At the time, you’re not thinking about the game any more, you are just thinking, ‘Is Locks going to be OK? He’s got a baby on the way’.
“After that, the way we all processed it is — we are going to do everything we can for Locks.
Mengi is thriving with the Hatters this seasonPrime Media
Prime Media“We are going to make Locks proud. We are going to perform how Locks performs. He would give an arm and a leg for this team.
“I remember the meeting with the gaffer and he was just showing us clips of Locks’ dedication.
“We just want to do everything that Locks does. The bottom line is that will get us results.”
And it has, with Mengi playing a big part in the improvement that has given Luton a fighting chance of Premier League survival.
Mengi said: “The gaffer Rob Edwards has put so much confidence in me to just go and show what I can do. I’m proud of myself.
“When we played City at home, it was the 10th of December 2023. On the 10th of December 2022, I tore my hamstring. It just goes to show how quick things can turn around.”
Today is the reverse fixture against United. Ten Hag’s side are different now, but so are Luton, having added results to the performances that so nearly earned them glory against other leading sides at Kenilworth Road.
City, Arsenal and Chelsea all won by the odd goal. Liverpool needed a stoppage-time equaliser to avoid defeat and Newcastle were beaten 1-0.
Mengi explained: “At Luton Town, we have something really special that every team needs: the ability to stay together.
“We are going into the game with confidence and a winning mentality. We all believe that we belong here.”
After finding a new home from home, Mengi won’t be taking a wrong turn again.
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