The Leeds United squad took time out ahead of the match at Bournemouth to make a young fan's day

It was a day seven-year-old Oscar will never forget. And it’s probably the best holiday he’s had yet. Not every family break has you meeting your football heroes.

Oscar is an avid Leeds United fan. Any item with the club logo on becomes a prized possession. So when he met the players in person ahead of last weekend’s match against Bournemouth, lifetime memories were made.

Sadly Oscar isn’t able to attend matches, as dad Nick Mortimer explains. “Oscar suffers from a rare genetic disorder called Smith-Magenis syndrome and he is non-verbal,” he tells Leeds Live .

“He can’t go to games because of his condition and the sensory issues which come with it, but he watches on TV and loves anything with the Leeds United badge on it; his Leeds shirt, his Leeds mug and his Leeds monkey that he carries everywhere with him.”

Last weekend, came an opportunity that the club sought to provide. Oscar and Nick were staying in the hotel in which the Leeds squad was sleeping ahead of the game at the Vitality Stadium.

They initially saw the team arrive but the players had been told not to stop to sign shirts or photographs after security spotted autograph touts - chancers who show up where footballers are to grab a signature for the sole purpose of selling the item on for cash.

Ethan Ampadu came over to Oscar anyway after Nick called out to him; the captain deciphering that, clearly, the duo were not of the tout intent.

Head of security chief Martin Sykes had spotted Oscar and Nick and set about supplying a fantastic gesture.

When Oscar and family returned to the hotel later that evening, the hotel security staff asked them to wait in reception. Soon, Sykes strode over and offered them the chance to get their memorabilia signed by others in the squad after breakfast the next morning.

In the end, something even better happened, as Nick explains. “While waiting in a cordoned off area, Martin came down and said we were invited upstairs to meet the players. We went up and met all the players and they happily posed for pictures and provided autographs, and interacted really nicely with Oscar.

“After the players had left and we had gone back downstairs, Martin gave us the signed shirt and Daniel Farke came down and came over to say hello and introduce himself and have a picture taken.

“Oscar loves giving high fives and all the players were so polite and friendly. They all gave him high fives as they came past, and all said hello to him.”

Oscar got a number of photographs with the players, including Ao Tanaka and Dominic Calvert-Lewin. It was a touching moment for father Nick, too.

A supporter of more than 35 years, he attends Leeds matches when he can, travelling all the way from his home in Somerset. He was at Plymouth Argyle on the day Leeds won the 2024/25 Championship title.

His recollections of last week will rank just as highly. “I have two memories to take away,” said Nick.

“One being the smile on Oscar’s face as he gave the players high fives, and the other is seeing how fortunate we are as fans to have a club with such good people involved.

“The manager, the captain, the players, and Martin. For them to go out of their way to provide that experience for us was unbelievable.”