Manchester United F.C. Under-21s
Full nameManchester United Football Club Under-21s
NicknamesThe Red Devils, United
Founded1878, as Newton Heath Reserves
GroundLeigh Sports Village,
Leigh
Capacity12,000[1]
Co-chairmenJoel and Avram Glazer
ManagerAdam Lawrence
LeaguePremier League 2
2024–25Premier League 2, 5th (league)
Semi-finals (Playoffs)
Websitemanchesterunitedacademy.com
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 Adam Lawrence, who took over from Travis Binnion in 2026.

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 December 2025[6]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
34 GK  ENG Elyh Harrison
38 MF  ENG Jack Fletcher
39 MF  SCO Tyler Fletcher
45 GK  NIR Dermot Mee
54 DF  SCO Louis Jackson
55 MF  ENG Finley McAllister
57 FW  SCO Malachi Sharpe
58 FW  ENG Ashton Missin
60 DF  ENG Sonny Aljofree
No. Pos. Nation Player
61 FW  ENG Shea Lacey
62 MF  ENG Jayce Fitzgerald
63 GK  NIR William Murdock
64 MF  IRL Jack Moorhouse
64 FW  ENG Victor Musa
65 DF  ENG Reece Munro
66 DF  ENG Jaydan Kamason
66 DF  ENG Habeeb Ogunneye

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
40 GK  CZE Radek Vítek (at Bristol City until 30 June 2026)
42 MF  MLI Sékou Koné (at Lausanne-Sport until 30 June 2026)
49 FW  ENG Ethan Ennis (at Fleetwood Town until 30 June 2026)
56 FW  ENG Ethan Williams (at Falkirk until 30 June 2026)
No. Pos. Nation Player
59 MF  GIB James Scanlon (at Swindon Town until 30 June 2026)
60 FW  WAL Gabriele Biancheri (at Rotherham United until 30 June 2026)
67 MF  IRL Jacob Devaney (at St Mirren until 30 June 2026)
— FW  FRA Enzo Kana-Biyik (at Lausanne-Sport until 30 June 2026)

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[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]
2023–2026 Travis Binnion
2026– Adam Lawrence[14]

Honours

Under-18s

Manchester United F.C. Under-18s
Full nameManchester United Football Club Under-18s
NicknamesThe Red Devils, United
Founded1998
GroundTrafford Training Centre
Carrington
Co-chairmenJoel and Avram Glazer
Head coachDarren Fletcher
LeagueU18 Premier League North
2024–25U18 Premier League, 2nd (North)
Did not qualify (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 Trafford Training Centre, 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 10 December 2025[15][16]

Nat. Player Date of birth Position Number International caps Previous club Joined
2nd Year Scholars
Cameron Byrne-Hughes (2007-11-02) 2 November 2007 GK 79 July 2024
Fred Heath (2007-09-25) 25 September 2007 GK 78 July 2024
Daniel Armer (2007-10-23) 23 October 2007 DF 75 Capped at Under-19 level July 2024
Albert Mills (2008-02-28) 28 February 2008 DF 71 July 2024
Dante Plunkett (2007-10-09) 9 October 2007 DF 69 Aston Villa July 2024
Godwill Kukonki (2008-02-06) 6 February 2008 DF 72 Capped at Under-17 level July 2024
James Overy (2007-11-09) 9 November 2007 DF 76 Capped at Under-19 level Newton Abbot Spurs September 2024
Jim Thwaites (2007-12-20) 20 December 2007 MF 77 July 2024
James Bailey (2007-12-29) 29 December 2007 MF 74 Burnley July 2024
Amir Ibragimov (2008-04-02) 2 April 2008 MF 73 Capped at Under-16 level Sheffield United July 2024
Bendito Mantato (2008-01-25) 25 January 2008 FW 70 Capped at Under-17 level July 2024
Samuel Lusale (2007-09-07) 7 September 2007 FW 80 Capped at Under-19 level Crystal Palace September 2024
1st Year Scholars
Zachary Watson (2008-09-19) 19 September 2008 GK 81 July 2025
Rafe McCormack (2008-12-14) 14 December 2008 DF 86 Capped at Under-16 level July 2025
Jacob Watson (2009-05-16) 16 May 2009 DF 82 July 2025
Jayden Ngwashi (2008-09-21) 21 September 2008 DF 84 July 2025
Yuel Helafu (2008-09-02) 2 September 2008 DF 89 July 2025
Jay McEvoy (2008-10-16) 16 October 2008 MF 85 Capped at Under-15 level July 2025
Jariyah Shah (2009-05-25) 25 May 2009 MF 83 July 2025
Louie Kynaston-Bradbury (2008-09-16) 16 September 2008 FW 87 July 2025
Neithan Barbosa (2008-12-06) 6 December 2008 FW 91 July 2025
Noah Ajayi (2008-11-23) 23 November 2008 FW 92 July 2025
Nathaniel-Junior Brown (2008-12-18) 18 December 2008 FW 90 July 2025
Under-16s
Harley Emsden-James (2009-03-13) 13 March 2009 DF 93 Southampton July 1, 2025
Doula Nkoto Abdoulaye (2010-09-27) 27 September 2010 FW 94
JJ Gabriel (2010-10-06) 6 October 2010 FW 95
Kai Rooney (2009-11-02) 2 November 2009 FW 96
Charlie Hardy (2009-07-14) 14 July 2009 GK 97 Derby County 6 December 2025

Honours

Staff

Role Name
Director of Academy Steve Torpey[20]
Senior Academy Coach Mark Dempsey[21]
Head of Academy Football Development and Methodology Darren Hughes [22]
Head of Academy Recruitment Connor Hunter [22]
Under-21 Scout Ian Broomfield [22]
Head of Player Development and Coaching (U17–U21) Darren Fletcher
Under-21 Head Coach Adam Lawrence[14]
Under-21 Assistant Head Coach Alan Wright [23]
Lead Academy Goalkeeping Coach (U21) Tommy Lee[21]
Academy Goalkeeping Coach Christopher Backhouse[23]
Under-21 Performance Analyst Curtis Quinn[23]
Under-18 Head Coach Darren Fletcher[24]
Under-18 Assistant Head Coach Colin Little
Academy Goalkeeping Coach (U18) Kevin Wolfe[21]
Head of Academy Performance Matt Walker[23]
PDP Athletic Development Coach Luke Lawrence[23]
Head of Player Development (U13-16) and Under-16 Lead Coach Tom Curtis
Under-15 Lead Coach Tommy Rowe
Head of Player Development (U9-U13) Eamon Mulvey[23]
Under-14 Lead Coach Vacant
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–U21) 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".

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[27] 		Denzil Haroun
Reserve Team Player of the Year[28]
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[29] Craig Cathcart Kieran Lee
2007–08[30] Danny Welbeck Richard Eckersley
2008–09[31] Federico Macheda James Chester
2009–10 Will Keane[27] Ritchie De Laet[28]
2010–11 Ryan Tunnicliffe[32] Oliver Gill[33]
2011–12 Mats Møller Dæhli[34] Michael Keane[35]
2012–13 Ben Pearson[36] Adnan Januzaj[37]
2013–14 James Wilson[38] Saidy Janko[39]
2014–15 Axel Tuanzebe[40] Andreas Pereira[41]
2015–16 Marcus Rashford[42] Cameron Borthwick-Jackson[43]
2016–17 Angel Gomes[44] Axel Tuanzebe[45]
2017–18 Tahith Chong[46] Demetri Mitchell[47]
2018–19 Mason Greenwood[48] Tahith Chong[49]
2019–20 Anthony Elanga[50] James Garner[51]
2020–21 Shola Shoretire[52] Hannibal Mejbri[53]
2021–22 Alejandro Garnacho[54] Álvaro Fernández[55]
2022–23 Kobbie Mainoo[56] Dan Gore[57]
2023–24 Ethan Wheatley[58] Elyh Harrison[59]
2024–25 Harry Amass[60] Tyler Fredricson[61]

References

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  4. "Premier League 2: Competition format explained". Premier League.
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  6. "Man Utd Reserves Squad & Players Profile". ManUtd.com. Manchester United.
  7. Thompson, Gemma (26 May 2008). "Duo to manage Reserves". ManUtd.com. Manchester United.
  8. Coppack, Nick (9 November 2010). "Ole accepts Norwegian post". ManUtd.com. Manchester United.
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  10. "Nicky Butt named as Manchester United reserves' caretaker manager". ESPN.co.uk. ESPN Internet Ventures. 4 November 2016.
  11. "United appoint Ricky Sbragia". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 7 July 2017.
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  19. "Premier – Previous Winners". nimilkcup.org. NI Milk Cup.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
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