CHILDHOOD PALS Axel Tuanzebe and Connor Ronan are taking very different paths to the top.
The former is doing it the way many young kids dream, joining the Manchester United academy aged eight and progressing through the ranks.
He made his senior debut in January 2017, enjoyed a successful loan at Aston Villa and captained the club he supports for the first time against hometown Rochdale this season.
But for Ronan, it’s been a different story. He left boyhood club Rochdale to join Wolves at 16, broke into the senior side, then suffered an injury setback before loans to League One.
Now, as his parent side Wolves take on Tuanzebe’s United in the FA Cup Third Round, he finds himself on loan at Dunajska Streda in Slovakia.
Tuanzebe, 22, and Ronan, 21, may be 1,000 miles apart but the friends remain close.
The pair were part of the same school team at St Cuthbert’s RC High School in Rochdale, but their friendship goes back to when they were just six.
Ronan told SunSport: “We’ll go a few weeks then we check in on each other, see what’s going on. It’s not every day – there’s not a need for it.
“I was coming back from an away game and found out he was going to be captain against Rochdale. I got my phone, gave him a quick message.
“I felt I had to say, ‘Just don’t take it for granted, you are captaining Manchester United.’ It was this perfect mixture of a game.
“Everyone thinks we just went to school together. But I started playing football around five or six and my dad took was manager.
“Then Axel just turned up. We didn’t even know he was coming, he just turned up at training.
“He obviously just wanted to play football and heard we had a pretty good team. From the first session, I’m not going to say you knew, but you could tell he was different.
“Dad likes to think he played a big part in Axel’s career but I do think he did and if you ask Axel, he would say the same.
“We used to pick him up, take him to training and games. My dad especially was really supportive of him.”
Ronan explained they “bounced off each other” as they reached the National Schools Cup final with St Cuthbert’s in Year 7 but then Tuanzebe moved schools due to his place in the United academy.
Ronan said: “No one understood why Axel had to leave. It was a shock. I didn’t really think you could play for Manchester United at that age! It was weird to see. It was a confidence boost for the lads because he showed it is possible.”
For Ronan, it was Wolves who came calling rather than Manchester United.
Despite their own routes in football, their paths have crossed once since Tuanzebe left St Cuthbert’s.
Soon after Ronan joined Wolves, they faced Manchester United in a Premier League Under-18s game. Tuanzebe captained United to victory and bagged the bragging rights.
Since that emotional day for both families in Manchester, Ronan made his first-team debut with Wolves.
He was trusted by Kenny Jackett to be in the mix before being handed his senior bow by Paul Lambert a month before Tuanzebe got his, in a 2-0 win away at Nottingham Forest.
A few weeks later he earned his first start and was named man of the match at Hillsborough.
Ronan added: “At Forest, I played ten or 15 minutes. I didn’t try and do anything special.
“When I came on, I took a bad touch and dribbled it out of play! I settled down after that. I got a taste and was hungry for more.”
It was not plain sailing, though, and his dreams of progressing into a first-team regular were dented when Nuno Espirito Santo arrived in summer 2017 and brought in Ruben Neves et al.
But an innocuous injury during the previous season did more damage.
The Irishman said: “I don’t dwell on it but I do think if it didn’t happen, things would be quite different. I don’t know where I would be.”
Loans to Portsmouth and Walsall followed but did not quite turn out as planned before a conversation with Christian Herc last Christmas changed everything – and saw him move to Slovakia!
Slovakian Herc, still on the books at Wolves, spent last season at Dunajska Streda and suggested Ronan joined. Last January, he did.
From the first session, I’m not going to say you knew, but you could tell he was different.
Ronan on playing with Tuanzebe for the first time
Ronan explained: “Christian had nothing but good things to say: a brand-new academy, stadium, the owner backing the club and the manager likes to play football. It was everything I was looking for.
“The location was irrelevant, it was just a case of going to play football. When I was coming over, the language didn’t even cross my mind.”
Ronan settled in the Slovakian town quickly, helped by his girlfriend Tianna moving over.
On the field he impressed, enough for Wolves to hand him a new deal in the summer and consolidate his place with Ireland’s U21s, before returning this season to carry on where he left off.
In the words of the non-English speaking taxi driver: “Connor. Fantastic.”
Ronan said: “I don’t miss much because this is my first experience of playing regular first-team football.
“It is the social side of things, not being able to see your family or friends whenever you want. It’s harder for friends. You’re not a main priority.
“There is a lot of misconceptions with footballers and girlfriends. Tianna’s moved out here with me which is a testament to her and sums her up. It’s a blessing that I met her when I did, at school aged 15.
“Both families have been unbelievable from aunties, third cousins, long-lost relatives. Everyone is tuning in to every single game, asking for a link to watch.”
Once his loan spell in Slovakia is up, the goal for Ronan is to re-establish himself in Santo’s side.
The playmaker is well aware that it will not be easy – Neves, Joao Moutinho, Leander Dendoncker as well as Morgan Gibbs-White aren’t too shabby a midfield at the Portuguese’s disposal.
But Ronan will be desperate it is not too long before he lines up for Wolves again after taking the scenic route via the south coast and central Europe.
Maybe he might just get the chance to take on his pal Axel… and get revenge for that U18s defeat.
