I travelled with Evra, helped Chelsea man go viral but feared Fury would beat me up

This seemingly ordinary lad from Luton has an extraordinary gift with a football. His tricks and flicks got him an appearance on Soccer AM and led to him living the life of a Manchester United player during a pre-season tour of America.

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The world was a very different place when we last spoke to Tom (or TNFreestyle as you may know him); like many, his life was put on hold by the COVID pandemic.

But despite the change in circumstances Tom continued to plug away at finding new ways to wow the internet with his special talent.

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He did exactly that in November 2020 as a stunning clip of Tom nonchalantly trapping a long ball with his heel and back of his leg before tying his shoelaces made it onto the 433 Instagram page.

The clip did 20 million views on 433's page, 60 million overall, and while certain doors were still closed by the pandemic, others opened.

Footballers started DMing Tom which helped to build his network. He was later connected with Chelsea star Mason Mount, who wanted some help as he prepared to launch his TikTok account.

The launch was a hit, with Mount's account gaining over a million followers within the first 15 hours of going live, which at the time was the most successful TikTok launch for a Premier League player.

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"I was actually getting a haircut when my close friend and right-hand man Konrad called me asking if I could get to Mason's house," Tom told talkSPORT.com.

"Konrad's a photographer for players and was already on his way, I literally finished my haircut and got a car straight to Mason's.

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"I came down and met him at his house and I thought I'd go out there and do him a favour. Konrad showed Mason my videos and he'd already seen them.

"I was meant to help him launch his TikTok and he didn't seem up for it so I ended up just chilling out, talking and playing FIFA. I later realised this was to build up trust… I ended up going back to his house to actually make it happen a couple of weeks later.

"We filmed a load of his stuff for his TikTok, his team helped launch it and I think it broke records for one of the most successful athlete launches - it did one million followers in 15 hours. We put out six videos and launched it on his TikTok and I think it did 35 million views."

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Success with Mount led to an exciting opportunity from a legend of Manchester United, who Tom supports, in Evra.

It's not every day you meet a hero of yours and Tom could've been forgiven for feeling a little starstruck. But at the end of their meeting in London it was Evra who was wowed, the Frenchman impressed by Tom's ability to say no to some ideas he had.

Soon after Tom was flying out to the UAE, Africa, Europe and across the UK looking after Evra's social media content.

Linking up with Evra also got Tom a nice reunion with Paul Pogba, who he had crossed paths with when trying to establish himself in the freestyling game. Evra also personally introduced Tom to THE boss at Man United, Sir Alex Ferguson.

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But it was during a trip to Nigeria when Tom realised he had a friend for life in Evra.

Tom's mum had recently been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and was hit with the disastrous news of getting COVID. Tom was understandably hugely concerned about what lay ahead.

Even though Tom didn't breathe a word about the shattering news, Evra knew something was up and after a lengthy heart-to-heart chat with Tom in his hotel room he contacted Tom's mum offering his support and any assistance he could provide.

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"You meet so many people and I can honestly say he's one of the nicest guys… I'm looking at this guy as a family member," Tom said.

Tom's mum got through the bout of COVID and as life began to become normal again, more cool excursions with Evra followed including playing a game of two-touch on a helipad in Qatar in December 2021, as one does!

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Tom was back in Qatar a year later for one of the greatest shows on earth in the World Cup, hanging out with Usain Bolt and Clarence Seedorf while out there too.

"Being this kid from Luton that grew up playing football on my roads and then to have someone like Patrice as a role model who is there, I can't even put it into words," Tom said.

"It's really cool to come from a background where social media, content and going viral a few years ago wasn't that relevant for anyone. Now, to have these players see me do it as a football freestyler and then asking me if I can do this for them…

"You don't know what's next. There are so many things going on."

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Working as a creative director for the top players appears to be where Tom's immediate future lies, although for a fleeting moment he feared it would all come crashing down while at Old Trafford with Evra.

Tyson Fury was also in the box Tom and Evra were in, bringing his sons along to the Man United match.

As boys often do, Fury's lads just couldn't sit still and all that charging around saw one of the Princes accidentally clatter into Tom.

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"In my head I'm just like, 'Oh my God I've just knocked Tyson Fury's kid over," Tom recalled.

"Of all people in this world that you do not want to upset… my heart certainly sank for a minute."

Fury fortunately saw the funny side and Tom lived to create content for another day. Or like with Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua, perhaps talks over a Tom vs Fury fight broke down.