From Siberia to Slough

Roots in the shadow of history

Matty Cash's story does not begin in England, but rather against the dramatic backdrop of the Second World War. His maternal grandfather, Ryszard Tomaszewski, was born in 1936 in Stanisławów. In 1940, as a young boy, he and his mother and two sisters were deported to Siberia by the Soviets. After nearly two years in exile, the family regained their freedom under the Sikorski–Mayski Agreement. Their arduous journey took them through Iran and India before they finally settled in Tanganyika. From there, in 1948, they boarded the ship RMS Scythia bound for Liverpool.

In Great Britain, Ryszard met Janina Tomaszewska, who was born in 1944 in Brańsk in north-eastern Poland. In 1967, their daughter Barbara Tomaszewska – the future player's mother – was born. The grandparents received British citizenship in 1974. These Polish roots would years later shape the player's international career, although his early footballing steps took place in an entirely different reality.

The boy from Berkshire

Matthew Stuart Cash was born on 7 August 1997 in Slough, Berkshire. His father, Stuart Cash, had been a professional footballer, which naturally steered the boy towards the sport. Growing up in nearby Iver, young Matty attended St Joseph's Catholic High School and honed his skills in the Wycombe Wanderers academy. A promising future lay ahead of him until 2012, when reality struck hard. Due to financial difficulties, the club disbanded its youth teams, leaving a 14-year-old Cash forced to look for a new home on the English football map.

The turning point proved to be a spell at the FAB Academy based at the National Sports Centres in Bisham Abbey. Over 16 months of intense work there, the young midfielder had to balance training with everyday responsibilities – including working at the Daniel department store. That experience forged his character and prepared him for the rigours of professional football.

On the road to senior football

That determination paid off in October 2014, when Nottingham Forest signed the teenager after his spell at Bisham Abbey. This transfer concluded his formative chapter and opened the door to senior football in League Two and eventually the Championship. Before he became a mainstay at Forest and before his Matty Cash stats in the Premier League began to catch the eye, he had to navigate a path defined by hard work and resilience.

The tale of his childhood and youth is a story of survival and perseverance – from the harrowing experiences of his Siberian ancestors to the setback of Wycombe's collapsed youth setup. Armed with this resilience, the young Englishman with Polish roots was edging closer to signing his first professional contract and taking his first steps towards the senior game.