Manchester United F.C. Under-21s and Academy

Manchester United Football Club Under-21s is the most senior of Manchester United's youth teams and the club's former reserve team. They play in the Premier League 2, the highest tier of the Professional Development League. The team is effectively Manchester United's second-string side, but is limited to five outfield players and one goalkeeper over the age of 21 per game following the introduction of new regulations from the 2022–23 season, a change from three outfield players over age 23 introduced in 2016–17. The age limit previously was again 21, from 2012–13. The team's current manager is Travis Binnion, who took over from Mark Dempsey in 2023.

Manchester United F.C. Under-21s
The words "Manchester" and "United" surround a pennant featuring a ship in full sail and a devil holding a trident.
Full nameManchester United Football Club Under-21s
Nickname(s)The Red Devils, United
Founded1878, as Newton Heath Reserves
GroundLeigh Sports Village,
Leigh
Capacity12,000[1]
Co-chairmenJoel and Avram Glazer
ManagerTravis Binnion
LeaguePremier League 2 Division 1
2022–23Premier League 2 Division 1, 9th
Current season

They were champions of the former Premier Reserve League five times (in 2002, 2005, 2006, 2010 and 2012) between its introduction in 1999 and its dissolution in 2012. The team also won the 2012–13 Professional U21 Development League 1 in its inaugural season, and again in 2015 and 2016. The team also participates in the regional Manchester Senior Cup and the Lancashire Senior Cup. From the 2019–20 edition, they also participate in the nationwide EFL Trophy along with senior teams from levels 3 and 4 of the English football league system, as teams from levels 1 and 2 are restricted to players aged 21 and under.

From November 2008 to August 2013, the team played its home matches at Moss Lane in Altrincham, the home of Altrincham For the 2013–14 Under-21 Premier League season, the team has played the majority of its home matches at Salford City Stadium in Barton-upon-Irwell.[2] Since 2014–15, the team play its home matches at Leigh Sports Village.[3] Rules set out by the Premier League state that at least three home league games per season must be played at the club's main stadium, Old Trafford.[4] In previous seasons, the team has played at the Victoria Stadium, the home of Northwich Victoria, and Ewen Fields, the home of Hyde United.[5]

Manchester United also has an Under-18s team that plays in the Premier League Under-18s Group 2 and the FA Youth Cup. The under-18s play their home games at the club's Trafford Training Centre in Carrington.

Under-21s

Current squad

As of 10 July 2024[6]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos. NationPlayer
52FW  ENGJoe Hugill
55DF  ENGTyler Fredricson
59MF  POLMaxi Oyedele
60DF  ENGSonny Aljofree
61DF  ENGSam Murray
63MF  GIBJames Scanlon
67MF  ENGSam Mather
71GK  ENGTom Wooster

Managerial history

YearsName
1946–1964 Jimmy Murphy
1964–1969 Wilf McGuinness
1969–1970 John Aston Sr.
1970–1971 Wilf McGuinness
1971–1974 Bill Foulkes
1974–1981 Jack Crompton
1981–1991 Brian Whitehouse
1991–2000 Pop Robson
Jimmy Ryan
2000–2001 Mike Phelan
2001–2002 Brian McClair
2002 Mike Phelan
2002–2005 Ricky Sbragia
2005–2006 Brian McClair
2005–2006 René Meulensteen
2006–2008 Brian McClair
2008–2011 Ole Gunnar Solskjær
Warren Joyce[7][8]
2011–2016 Warren Joyce[9]
2016–2017 Nicky Butt[10]
2017–2019 Ricky Sbragia[11]
2019–2022 Neil Wood[12]
2022–2023 Mark Dempsey[13]
2023–present Travis Binnion[14]

Honours

Academy

Manchester United F.C. Under-18s
Full nameManchester United Football Club Under-18s
Nickname(s)The Red Devils, United
Founded1998
GroundTrafford Training Centre
Carrington
Co-chairmenJoel and Avram Glazer
Head coachAdam Lawrence
LeagueU18 Premier League North
2022–23U18 Premier League North, 3rd

The Manchester United Academy was established in 1998, following the reorganisation of youth football in England, but has roots stretching all the way back to the 1930s with the establishment of the Manchester United Junior Athletic Club (MUJAC), and has been responsible for producing some of Manchester United's greatest ever players, including the club's top five all-time appearance makers, Ryan Giggs, Bobby Charlton, Bill Foulkes, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville, and the new wave of home-grown talents known as Fergie's Fledglings. The current academy is based at the club's Aon Training Complex, an 85-acre (340,000 m2) site in the Manchester suburb of Carrington.

The Manchester United youth team is statistically the most successful in English football, with nine players in the English football Hall of Fame (Duncan Edwards, Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best, Nobby Stiles, Mark Hughes, Paul Scholes, David Beckham and Johnny Giles). Manchester United also have the best FA Youth Cup record, winning on ten occasions out of 14 final appearances.

The academy comprises age-group teams ranging from Under-9s up to the flagship Under-18s, who currently compete in Group C of the Premier Academy League and in the FA Youth Cup. The Under-16s and Under-18s typically play their academy league games at 11am on Saturday mornings at Carrington, while Youth Cup games are generally played at either Altrincham's Moss Lane ground (where the under-23s play their home games) or the club's 76,000-capacity Old Trafford home, in order to cater for the greater number of supporters these fixtures attract.

In 2007, Manchester United Under-18s won the Champions Youth Cup, intended to be an analogue to the FIFA Club World Cup for youth sides, beating Juventus 1–0 in the final in Malaysia. It was their first and only title, since the tournament was scrapped after only one edition.

Current squad

As of 16 September 2023[15][16][17][18]

Nat.PlayerDate of birthPositionInternational capsPrevious clubJoined United
2nd Year Scholars
Thomas Myles (2005-11-17) 17 November 2005 (age 18)GKJuly 2022
Elyh Harrison (2006-02-19) 19 February 2006 (age 18)GKStevenageJuly 2022
James Nolan (2005-10-02) 2 October 2005 (age 18)DFCapped at Under-18 levelJuly 2022
Louis Jackson (2005-09-18) 18 September 2005 (age 18)DFCapped at Under-18 levelJuly 2022
Jack Kingdon (2005-11-16) 16 November 2005 (age 18)DFCapped at Under-18 levelJuly 2022
Habeeb Ogunneye (2005-11-12) 12 November 2005 (age 18)DFCapped at Under-18 levelJuly 2022
Ethan Williams (2005-11-14) 14 November 2005 (age 18)MFCapped at Under-15 levelBarnsleyJuly 2022
Jack Moorhouse (2005-11-29) 29 November 2005 (age 18)MFJuly 2022
Ruben Curley (2005-09-05) 5 September 2005 (age 18)MFJuly 2022
Finley McAllister (2006-07-16) 16 July 2006 (age 17)MFCapped at Under-17 levelJuly 2022
Malachi Sharpe (2005-11-20) 20 November 2005 (age 18)FWCapped at Under-18 levelDerby CountyJuly 2022
Ashton Missin (2006-08-15) 15 August 2006 (age 17)FWJuly 2022
Ethan Wheatley (2006-01-20) 20 January 2006 (age 18)FWJuly 2022
1st Year Scholars[19]
Will Murdock (2007-05-26) 26 May 2007 (age 17)GKCapped at Under-17 levelJuly 2023
Jaydan Kamason (2006-12-08) 8 December 2006 (age 17)DFCapped at Under-16 levelJuly 2023
Reece Munro (2007-07-21) 21 July 2007 (age 16)DFJuly 2023
Harry Amass (2007-02-16) 16 February 2007 (age 17)DFWatfordJuly 2023
Zach Baumann (2007-01-02) 2 January 2007 (age 17)MFJuly 2023
Jacob Devaney (2007-06-11) 11 June 2007 (age 17)MFJuly 2023
Jayce Fitzgerald (2007-05-09) 9 May 2007 (age 17)MFCapped at Under-16 levelJuly 2023
Tyler Fletcher (2007-03-19) 19 March 2007 (age 17)MFManchester CityJuly 2023
Jack Fletcher (2007-03-19) 19 March 2007 (age 17)MFManchester CityJuly 2023
James Scanlon (2006-09-28) 28 September 2006 (age 17)MFCapped at senior levelDerby CountyJuly 2023
Gabriele Biancheri (2006-09-18) 18 September 2006 (age 17)FWCapped at Under-17 levelCardiff CityJuly 2023
Sekou Kaba (2007-03-28) 28 March 2007 (age 17)FWDerby CountyJuly 2023
Shea Lacey (2007-04-14) 14 April 2007 (age 17)FWCapped at Under-17 levelJuly 2023
Victor Musa (2006-09-05) 5 September 2006 (age 17)FWCapped at Under-16 levelBradford CityJuly 2023

Honours

Staff

RoleName
Director of Academy Nick Cox[14]
Senior Academy Coach Mark Dempsey[14]
Head of Player Development and Coaching (U19–U23) Travis Binnion[14]
Under-21 Head Coach
Professional Development Phase Coaches David Hughes[14]
Colin Little[14]
Lead Academy Goalkeeping Coach (U21)Tommy Lee[14]
Academy Goalkeeping CoachChristopher Backhouse[23]
Under-21 Performance AnalystCurtis Quinn[23]
Head of Player Development (U13–U16)Adam Lawrence[14]
Under-18 Head Coach
Academy Goalkeeping Coach (U18)Kevin Wolfe[14]
Head of Academy PerformanceMatt Walker[23]
PDP Athletic Development Coach Luke Lawrence[23]
Under-16 Lead Coach Martin Drury[14]
Under-15 Lead Coach Paul McShane[14]
Academy Programme AdvisorEamon Mulvey[23]
Under-13 Lead Coach Hasney Aljofree[24]
Under-12 Lead Coach Lee Unsworth[25]
YDP Athletic Development Lead (U12–U16)Alex Ouzounoglou[23]

Notable youth team players

The following is a list of players who have played in the Manchester United youth team (U16–U18) and represented a country (not necessarily their country of birth) at full international level.[26] Players who are currently playing at Manchester United, or for another club on loan from Manchester United, are highlighted in bold.

Players of the Year

Prior to 1990, a single award was presented to the best young player of that season. Between 1982 and 1985, this was the entitled "Young Player of the Year"; the award then became known as the "Denzil Haroun Young Player of the Year" between 1986 and 1989 in honour of Denzil Haroun, a former club director and brother-in-law of former club chairman Louis Edwards.

Since 1990, individual awards are made to the best player of the Academy and the Reserves. The "Young Player of the Year" is named in honour of Jimmy Murphy, Sir Matt Busby's long-time assistant manager, who died in 1989, and the best reserve is awarded the "Denzil Haroun Reserve Player of the Year".

SeasonSupporters Club
Young Player of the Year
1982–83Norman Whiteside
1983–84Mark Hughes
1984–85Mark Hughes
SeasonDenzil Haroun
Young Player of the Year
1985–86Simon Ratcliffe
1986–87Gary Walsh
1987–88Lee Martin
1988–89Mark Robins
SeasonJimmy Murphy
Young Player of the Year[27]
Denzil Haroun
Reserve Team Player of the Year[28]
1989–90Lee MartinMark Robins
1990–91Ryan GiggsJason Lydiate
1991–92Ryan GiggsBrian Carey
1992–93Paul ScholesColin McKee
1993–94Phil NevilleNicky Butt
1994–95Terry CookeKevin Pilkington
1995–96Ronnie WallworkMichael Appleton
1996–97John CurtisMichael Clegg
1997–98Wes BrownMichael Twiss
1998–99Wes BrownMark Wilson
1999–2000Bojan DjordjicJonathan Greening
2000–01Alan TateMichael Stewart
2001–02Paul TierneyJohn O'Shea
2002–03Ben CollettDarren Fletcher
2003–04Jonathan SpectorDavid Jones
2004–05Giuseppe RossiSylvan Ebanks-Blake
2005–06Darron GibsonGiuseppe Rossi
2006–07[29]Craig CathcartKieran Lee
2007–08[30]Danny WelbeckRichard Eckersley
2008–09[31]Federico MachedaJames Chester
2009–10Will Keane[27]Ritchie De Laet[28]
2010–11Ryan Tunnicliffe[32]Oliver Gill[33]
2011–12Mats Møller Dæhli[34]Michael Keane[35]
2012–13Ben Pearson[36]Adnan Januzaj[37]
2013–14James Wilson[38]Saidy Janko[39]
2014–15Axel Tuanzebe[40]Andreas Pereira[41]
2015–16Marcus Rashford[42]Cameron Borthwick-Jackson[43]
2016–17Angel Gomes[44]Axel Tuanzebe[45]
2017–18Tahith Chong[46]Demetri Mitchell[47]
2018–19Mason Greenwood[48]Tahith Chong[49]
2019–20Anthony Elanga[50]James Garner[51]
2020–21Shola Shoretire[52]Hannibal Mejbri[53]
2021–22Alejandro Garnacho[54]Álvaro Fernández[55]
2022–23Kobbie Mainoo[56]Dan Gore[57]
2023–24Ethan WheatleyElyh Harrison

References