NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan -- It is 4:50 a.m. on Wednesday morning. The wind-chill factor takes the temperature down to a punishing -22 degrees Celsius (-7 Fahrenheit), but as Manchester United's young squad emerges from the Arrivals Hall at Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport, a throng of 60 locals with United scarves and banners greets them with a noisy welcome.
United are making their first visit to Kazakhstan to play a routine Europa League group game against FC Astana, 3,700 miles from Old Trafford, in a city that is closer to Beijing than Manchester. From a football perspective, Nur-Sultan is as far from home as United could possibly be within the UEFA orbit, but it is a fixture that sums up where the team and club are right now.