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

Manchester United F.C. Under-21s

Full name	Manchester United Football Club Under-21s
Nickname(s)	The Red Devils, United
Founded	1878, as Newton Heath Reserves
Ground	Leigh Sports Village, Leigh
Capacity	12,000
Co-chairmen	Joel and Avram Glazer
Manager	Travis Binnion
League	Premier League 2
2023–24	Premier League 2, 12th (league) Round of 16 (Playoffs)
Home colours Away colours Third colours

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.

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. Since 2014–15, the team play its home matches at Leigh Sports Village. 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. In previous seasons, the team has played at the Victoria Stadium, the home of Northwich Victoria, and Ewen Fields, the home of Hyde United.

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 5 September 2024

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

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
42	MF	MLI	Sékou Koné
44	MF	ENG	Dan Gore
45	GK	NIR	Dermot Mee
47	MF	ENG	Tommy Rowe (player-coach)
48	GK	POL	Hubert Graczyk
49	FW	ENG	Ethan Ennis
53	MF	ENG	Sam Mather
54	DF	SCO	Louis Jackson
55	DF	ENG	Tyler Fredricson

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
61	DF	ENG	Sam Murray
64	MF	ENG	Jack Moorhouse
66	DF	ENG	Habeeb Ogunneye
68	DF	SCO	Jack Kingdon
70	MF	ENG	Finley McAllister
71	MF	ENG	Ruben Curley
73	FW	ENG	Ethan Williams
74	FW	SCO	Malachi Sharpe
76	FW	ENG	Ashton Missin

Out on loan

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

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
40	GK	CZE	Radek Vítek (at Blau-Weiß Linz until 30 June 2025)
50	GK	ENG	Elyh Harrison (at Chester until 30 June 2025)
51	DF	ENG	Rhys Bennett (at Fleetwood Town until 30 June 2025)
52	FW	ENG	Joe Hugill (at Wigan Athletic until 30 June 2025)
60	DF	ENG	Sonny Aljofree (at Accrington Stanley until 30 June 2025)
67	DF	ENG	James Nolan (at Inverness Caledonian Thistle until 30 June 2025)
—	GK	ENG	Tom Wooster (at Farsley Celtic until 30 June 2025)
—	GK	ENG	Thomas Myles (at Runcorn Linnets until 30 June 2025)

Managerial history

Years	Name
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
2011–2016	Warren Joyce
2016–2017	Nicky Butt
2017–2019	Ricky Sbragia
2019–2022	Neil Wood
2022–2023	Mark Dempsey
2023–present	Travis Binnion

Honours

• Premier League 2: 3
  • 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16
• Premier Reserve League
  • Play-off Final Winners: (4) 2005, 2006, 2010, 2012
  • Northern Champions: (5) 2002, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2012
• Central League: 9
  • 1913, 1921, 1939, 1947, 1956, 1960, 1994, 1996, 1997
• Central League Division 1 West: 1
  • 2005
• Central League Cup: 1
  • 2005
• Manchester Senior Cup: 12
  • 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016
• Lancashire Senior Cup: 15
  • 1898, 1913, 1914, 1920 (shared), 1929, 1938, 1941, 1943, 1946, 1951, 1969, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013
• SuperCupNI: 1
  • 2017

Academy

Manchester United F.C. Under-18s

Full name	Manchester United Football Club Under-18s
Nickname(s)	The Red Devils, United
Founded	1998
Ground	Trafford Training Centre Carrington
Co-chairmen	Joel and Avram Glazer
Head coach	Adam Lawrence
League	U18 Premier League North
2023–24	U18 Premier League, 1st (North) Champions (national)
Home colours Away colours Third colours

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 5 September 2024

Nat.	Player	Date of birth	Position	Number	International caps	Previous club	Joined United
2nd Year Scholars
	William Murdock	(2007-05-26) 26 May 2007	GK		Capped at Under-17 level		July 2023
	Reece Munro	(2007-07-21) 21 July 2007	DF				July 2023
	Jaydan Kamason	(2006-12-08) 8 December 2006	DF		Capped at Under-16 level		July 2023
	Tyler Fletcher	(2007-03-19) 19 March 2007	MF		Capped at Under-17 level	Manchester City	July 2023
	James Scanlon	(2006-09-28) 28 September 2006	MF	63	Capped at senior level	Derby County	July 2023
	Zach Baumann	(2007-01-02) 2 January 2007	MF				July 2023
	Jack Fletcher	(2007-03-19) 19 March 2007	MF	57	Capped at Under-17 level	Manchester City	July 2023
	Jacob Devaney	(2007-06-11) 11 June 2007	MF	81	Capped at Under-19 level		July 2023
	Jayce Fitzgerald	(2007-05-09) 9 May 2007	MF	75	Capped at Under-17 level		July 2023
	Sekou Kaba	(2007-03-28) 28 March 2007	FW			Derby County	July 2023
	Shea Lacey	(2007-04-14) 14 April 2007	FW		Capped at Under-17 level		July 2023
	Victor Musa	(2006-09-05) 5 September 2006	FW		Capped at Under-16 level	Bradford City	July 2023
	Gabriele Biancheri	(2006-09-18) 18 September 2006	FW	69	Capped at Under-19 level	Cardiff City	July 2023
1st Year Scholars
	Cameron Byrne-Hughes	(2007-11-02) 2 November 2007	GK				July 2024
	Frederick Heath	(2007-09-25) 25 September 2007	GK				July 2024
	Daniel Armer	(2007-10-23) 23 October 2007	DF				July 2024
	Albert Mills	(2008-02-28) 28 February 2008	DF				July 2024
	Dante Plunkett	(2007-10-09) 9 October 2007	DF			Aston Villa	July 2024
	Godwill Kukonki	(2008-02-06) 6 February 2008	DF				July 2024
	James Overy	(2007-11-09) 9 November 2007	DF			Newton Abbot Spurs	September 2024
	Jim Thwaites	(2007-12-20) 20 December 2007	MF				July 2024
	James Bailey	(2007-12-29) 29 December 2007	MF				July 2024
	Amir Ibragimov	(2008-04-02) 2 April 2008	MF				July 2024
	Bendito Mantato	(2008-01-25) 25 January 2008	FW		Capped at Under-15 level		July 2024
	Samuel Lusale	(2007-09-07) 7 September 2007	FW			Crystal Palace	September 2024
	Chido Obi	(2007-11-29) 29 November 2007	FW			Arsenal	October 2024

Honours

• U18 Premier League
  • National Final Winners: (1) 2023–24
  • North Division Champions: (2) 2017–18, 2023–24
• FA Youth Cup: 11
  • 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1964, 1992, 1995, 2003, 2011, 2022
• U18 Premier League Cup: 1
  • 2023–24
• Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup: 18
  • 1954, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 2004, 2005
• Champions Youth Cup: 1
  • 2007
• SuperCupNI: 7
  • 1991, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2022
• Lancashire League Division One: 12
  • 1954–55, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1992–93, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98
• Lancashire League Division Two: 5
  • 1964–65, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1988–89, 1996–97
• Lancashire League Division One Supplementary Cup: 4
  • 1954–55, 1955–56, 1959–60, 1963–64
• Lancashire League Division Two Supplementary Cup: 10
  • 1955–56, 1956–57, 1959–60, 1961–62, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1976–77

Staff

Role	Name
Director of Academy	Nick Cox
Senior Academy Coach	Mark Dempsey
Head of Player Development and Coaching (U19–U23)	Travis Binnion
Under-21 Head Coach
Professional Development Phase Coaches	David Hughes
	Colin Little
Lead Academy Goalkeeping Coach (U21)	Tommy Lee
Academy Goalkeeping Coach	Christopher Backhouse
Under-21 Performance Analyst	Curtis Quinn
Head of Player Development (U13–U16)	Adam Lawrence
Under-18 Head Coach
Academy Goalkeeping Coach (U18)	Kevin Wolfe
Head of Academy Performance	Matt Walker
PDP Athletic Development Coach	Luke Lawrence
Under-16 Lead Coach	Martin Drury
Under-15 Lead Coach	Paul McShane
Academy Programme Advisor	Eamon Mulvey
Under-13 Lead Coach	Hasney Aljofree
Under-12 Lead Coach	Lee Unsworth
YDP Athletic Development Lead (U12–U16)	Alex Ouzounoglou

Notable youth team players

The following is a list of players who have played in the Manchester United youth team (U16–U21) and represented a country (not necessarily their country of birth) at full international level. Players who are currently playing at Manchester United, or for another club on loan from Manchester United, are highlighted in bold.

• Stan Ackerley
• Adnan Ahmed
• Arthur Albiston
• Amad
• John Aston Sr.
• Ray Baartz
• Phil Bardsley
• David Beckham
• Mylan Benjamin
• Di'Shon Bernard
• George Best
• Clayton Blackmore
• Jackie Blanchflower
• Mark Bosnich
• Robbie Brady
• Evandro Brandão
• Febian Brandy
• Shay Brennan
• Ben Brereton Díaz
• Ronnie Briggs
• Wes Brown
• Alex Bruce
• Francis Burns
• Nicky Butt
• Roger Byrne
• Fraizer Campbell
• Johnny Carey
• Joe Carolan
• Craig Cathcart
• Bobby Charlton
• James Chester
• Tahith Chong
• Tom Cleverley
• Kenny Cooper
• Hugh Curran
• Mats Møller Dæhli
• Alan Davies
• Simon Davies
• Ritchie De Laet
• Oliver Denham
• Danny Drinkwater
• Joe Dudgeon
• Jimmy Dunne
• Eamon Dunphy
• Mike Duxbury
• Duncan Edwards
• Magnus Wolff Eikrem
• Sadiq El Fitouri
• Anthony Elanga
• Corry Evans
• Jonny Evans
• Fábio
• Dong Fangzhuo
• Darren Fletcher
• Bill Foulkes
• Timothy Fosu-Mensah
• Ethan Galbraith
• Alejandro Garnacho
• Darron Gibson
• Ryan Giggs
• Johnny Giles
• Keith Gillespie
• Don Givens
• Shaun Goater
• Pierluigi Gollini
• Angel Gomes
• Arthur Gómez
• Johnny Gorman
• Kenji Gorré
• Sean Goss
• Brian Greenhoff
• Mason Greenwood
• Tommy Hamilton
• Raheem Hanley
• David Healy
• Tom Heaton
• Dean Henderson
• Jackie Hennessy
• Ángelo Henríquez
• Danny Higginbotham
• Mark Hughes
• Phil Hughes
• Nicholas Ioannou
• Zidane Iqbal
• Saidy Janko
• Adnan Januzaj
• David Johnson
• Sam Johnstone
• Michael Keane
• Will Keane
• Otis Khan
• Brian Kidd
• Joshua King
• Jovan Kirovski
• Matěj Kovář
• Tom Lawrence
• Dylan Levitt
• Jesse Lingard
• Shaun Lowther
• Jon Macken
• Kobbie Mainoo
• Souleymane Mamam
• David McCreery
• Luke McCullough
• Wilf McGuinness
• Sammy McIlroy
• Alan McLoughlin
• Sammy McMillan
• Paddy McNair
• Paul McShane
• Scott McTominay
• Hannibal Mejbri
• Jackie Mooney
• Kalam Mooniaruck
• Johnny Morris
• Ravel Morrison
• Philip Mulryne
• Colin Murdock
• Daniel Nardiello
• Gary Neville
• Phil Neville
• Jimmy Nicholl
• Jimmy Nicholson
• Oliver Norwood
• Lee O'Connor
• Kieran O'Hara
• John O'Shea
• Peter O'Sullivan
• Matthew Olosunde
• Maxi Oyedele
• Stan Pearson
• David Pegg
• Facundo Pellistri
• Andreas Pereira
• Anthony Pilkington
• Gerard Piqué
• David Platt
• Paul Pogba
• Regan Poole
• Marcus Rashford
• Kieran Richardson
• Jimmy Rimmer
• Jonny Rödlund
• Giuseppe Rossi
• Mike Rowbotham
• David Sadler
• Charlie Savage
• Robbie Savage
• James Scanlon
• Paul Scholes
• Jackie Scott
• Ryan Shawcross
• Paul Sixsmith
• Paddy Sloan
• Jonathan Spector
• Michael Stewart
• Nobby Stiles
• Martin Šviderský
• Jordan Thompson
• John Thorrington
• Sean Tse
• Axel Tuanzebe
• Guillermo Varela
• Frédéric Veseli
• Dennis Viollet
• Danny Welbeck
• Billy Whelan
• Norman Whiteside
• Ro-Shaun Williams
• Matty Willock
• Marc Wilson
• Jamie Wood
• Hussein Yasser
• Ron-Robert Zieler

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".

Season	Supporters Club Young Player of the Year
1982–83	Norman Whiteside
1983–84	Mark Hughes
1984–85	Mark Hughes

Season	Denzil Haroun Young Player of the Year
1985–86	Simon Ratcliffe
1986–87	Gary Walsh
1987–88	Lee Martin
1988–89	Mark Robins

Season	Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year	Denzil Haroun Reserve Team Player of the Year
1989–90	Lee Martin	Mark Robins
1990–91	Ryan Giggs	Jason Lydiate
1991–92	Ryan Giggs	Brian Carey
1992–93	Paul Scholes	Colin McKee
1993–94	Phil Neville	Nicky Butt
1994–95	Terry Cooke	Kevin Pilkington
1995–96	Ronnie Wallwork	Michael Appleton
1996–97	John Curtis	Michael Clegg
1997–98	Wes Brown	Michael Twiss
1998–99	Wes Brown	Mark Wilson
1999–2000	Bojan Djordjic	Jonathan Greening
2000–01	Alan Tate	Michael Stewart
2001–02	Paul Tierney	John O'Shea
2002–03	Ben Collett	Darren Fletcher
2003–04	Jonathan Spector	David Jones
2004–05	Giuseppe Rossi	Sylvan Ebanks-Blake
2005–06	Darron Gibson	Giuseppe Rossi
2006–07	Craig Cathcart	Kieran Lee
2007–08	Danny Welbeck	Richard Eckersley
2008–09	Federico Macheda	James Chester
2009–10	Will Keane	Ritchie De Laet
2010–11	Ryan Tunnicliffe	Oliver Gill
2011–12	Mats Møller Dæhli	Michael Keane
2012–13	Ben Pearson	Adnan Januzaj
2013–14	James Wilson	Saidy Janko
2014–15	Axel Tuanzebe	Andreas Pereira
2015–16	Marcus Rashford	Cameron Borthwick-Jackson
2016–17	Angel Gomes	Axel Tuanzebe
2017–18	Tahith Chong	Demetri Mitchell
2018–19	Mason Greenwood	Tahith Chong
2019–20	Anthony Elanga	James Garner
2020–21	Shola Shoretire	Hannibal Mejbri
2021–22	Alejandro Garnacho	Álvaro Fernández
2022–23	Kobbie Mainoo	Dan Gore
2023–24	Ethan Wheatley	Elyh Harrison

External links

• Man Utd Under-21s (official site)
• Man Utd Academy (official site)
• Premier Reserve League North Archived 20 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine