Manchester United F.C. Reserves and Academy
# Manchester United F.C. Reserves and Academy

Departments of Manchester United :

| Men's football | Women's football | Academy |
| - | - | - |
| Basketball (defunct) | | |

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.

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.

The team's current manager is Mark Dempsey, who took over from Neil Wood in 2022. Wood managed the team from 2019 until 2022. Ricky Sbragia had been manager since 2017 and had also been manager for the reserves between 2002–2005. Sbragia had taken over from Nicky Butt, an academy graduate in the 1990s who played for United until 2004. Butt held the role on an interim basis for the 2016–17 season after Warren Joyce was appointed Wigan Athletic manager on 2 November 2016. Joyce, who took over from Ole Gunnar Solskjær as manager of the reserves in December 2010, was previously the manager of Royal Antwerp, Manchester United's feeder club in Belgium.

From November 2008 to August 2013, the team played its home matches at Moss Lane in Altrincham, the home of Altrincham F.C. 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 17 July 2023

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

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | - | - | - |
| 30 | GK | ENG | Nathan Bishop |
| 35 | MF | ENG | Tom Huddlestone (player-coach) |
| 37 | MF | ENG | Kobbie Mainoo |
| 38 | GK | CZE | Matěj Kovář |
| 40 | GK | CZE | Radek Vítek |
| 44 | MF | ENG | Daniel Gore |
| 45 | GK | NIR | Dermot Mee |
| 48 | DF | ENG | Will Fish |
| 51 | MF | WAL | Charlie Savage |
| 52 | FW | ENG | Joe Hugill |
| 53 | DF | FRA | Willy Kambwala |
| 54 | DF | ESP | Marc Jurado |
| 56 | FW | ENG | Charlie McNeill |
| 57 | FW | FRA | Noam Emeran |
| 59 | MF | NOR | Isak Hansen-Aarøen |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 60 | GK | CZE | Ondřej Mastný |
| 61 | FW | COL | Mateo Mejía |
| 62 | MF | ENG | Omari Forson |
| 64 | DF | NED | Björn Hardley |
| 65 | MF | ENG | Toby Collyer |
| 66 | DF | ENG | Rhys Bennett |
| 68 | DF | POL | Maxi Oyedele |
| 69 | DF | ENG | Sonny Aljofree |
| 72 | DF | ENG | Sam Murray |
| 76 | DF | ENG | James Nolan |
| 78 | GK | ENG | Tom Wooster |
| 80 | DF | ENG | Tyler Fredricson |
| — | DF | ENG | Logan Pye |
| — | MF | ENG | Sam Mather |

### Manager 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–present | Mark Dempsey |

### Honours

* Professional Development League 1
   * Winners (3): 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16
* Premier Reserve League Northern
   * Winners (5): 2002, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2012
* Premier Reserve League National Playoff
   * Winners (4): 2005, 2006, 2010, 2012
* Central League North: 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: 27
   * 1908, 1910, 1912, 1913, 1920, 1924, 1926, 1931, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1939, 1948, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1964, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
* Lancashire Senior Cup: 15
   * 1898, 1913, 1914, 1920 (shared), 1929, 1938, 1941, 1943, 1946, 1951, 1969, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013

## Academy

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 $m^2)$ 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 10 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 2 September 2022

| Nat. | Player | Date of birth | Position | International caps | Previous club | Joined United |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2nd Year Scholars |||||||
| | Tom Wooster | (2005-03-30) 30 March 2005 (age 18) | GK | Capped at Under-15 level | Barnsley | July 2021 |
| | Sam Murray | (2004-09-25) 25 September 2004 (age 18) | DF | Capped at Under-15 level | Huddersfield Town | July 2021 |
| | Marcus Lawrence | (2005-06-24) 24 June 2005 (age 18) | DF | | | July 2021 |
| | Maximillian Oyedele | (2004-11-07) 7 November 2004 (age 18) | DF | Capped at Under-18 level | | July 2021 |
| | Tyler Fredricson | (2005-02-23) 23 February 2005 (age 18) | DF | Capped at Under-17 level | | July 2021 |
| | Sonny Aljofree | (2004-12-09) 9 December 2004 (age 18) | DF | Capped at Under-18 level | | July 2021 |
| | Daniel Gore | (2004-09-26) 26 September 2004 (age 18) | MF | Capped at Under-18 level | | July 2021 |
| | Kobbie Mainoo | (2005-04-19) 19 April 2005 (age 18) | MF | | | July 2021 |
| | Sam Mather | (2004-09-03) 3 September 2004 (age 18) | MF | Capped at Under-18 level | | July 2021 |
| | Ethan Ennis | (2004-12-11) 11 December 2004 (age 18) | FW | | Liverpool | July 2021 |
| 1st Year Scholars |||||||
| | Thomas Myles | (2005-11-17) 17 November 2005 (age 17) | GK | | | July 2022 |
| | Elyh Harrison | (2006-02-19) 19 February 2006 (age 17) | GK | | Stevenage | July 2022 |
| | James Nolan | (2005-10-02) 2 October 2005 (age 17) | DF | Capped at Under-18 level | | July 2022 |
| | Louis Jackson | (2005-09-18) 18 September 2005 (age 17) | DF | Capped at Under-18 level | | July 2022 |
| | Jack Kingdon | (2005-11-16) 16 November 2005 (age 17) | DF | Capped at Under-18 level | | July 2022 |
| | Habeeb Ogunneye | (2005-11-12) 12 November 2005 (age 17) | DF | Capped at Under-18 level | | July 2022 |
| | Ethan Williams | (2005-11-14) 14 November 2005 (age 17) | MF | Capped at Under-15 level | Barnsley | July 2022 |
| | Jack Moorhouse | (2005-11-29) 29 November 2005 (age 17) | MF | | | July 2022 |
| | Ruben Curley | (2005-09-05) 5 September 2005 (age 17) | MF | | | July 2022 |
| | Malachi Sharpe | (2005-11-20) 20 November 2005 (age 17) | FW | Capped at Under-18 level | Derby County | July 2022 |
| | Ashton Missin | (2006-08-15) 15 August 2006 (age 16) | FW | | | July 2022 |
| | Ethan Wheatley | (2006-01-20) 20 January 2006 (age 17) | FW | | | July 2022 |

**2023 intake**

The following players are confirmed to be part of the intake for the 2023–24 season as of 19 July, 2023.

| Nat. | Player | Date of birth | Position | International caps | Previous club | Joined United |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1st Year Scholars |||||||
| | Zach Baumann | (2007-01-02) 2 January 2007 (age 16) | MF | | | July 2023 |
| | Gabriele Bianchieri | (2006-09-18) 18 September 2006 (age 16) | FW | Capped at Under-17 level | Cardiff City | July 2023 |
| | Jacob Devaney | (2007-06-11) 11 June 2007 (age 16) | DF | | | July 2023 |
| | Jayce Fitzgerald | (2007-05-09) 9 May 2007 (age 16) | MF | Capped at Under-16 level | | July 2023 |
| | Sekou Kaba | (2007-03-28) 28 March 2007 (age 16) | FW | | Derby County | July 2023 |
| | Jayden Kamason | (2006-12-08) 8 December 2006 (age 16) | DF | Capped at Under-16 level | | July 2023 |
| | Shea Lacey | (2007-04-14) 14 April 2007 (age 16) | MF | Capped at Under-15 level | | July 2023 |
| | Reece Munro | (2007-07-21) 21 July 2007 (age 15) | DF | | | July 2023 |
| | Will Murdock | (2007-05-26) 26 May 2007 (age 16) | GK | | | July 2023 |
| | Victor Musa | (2006-09-05) 5 September 2006 (age 16) | FW | Capped at Under-16 level | Bradford City | July 2023 |
| | James Scanlon | (2006-09-28) 28 September 2006 (age 16) | MF | Capped at Under-17 level | Derby County | July 2023 |

### Honours

* U18 Premier League – National Champions: 1
   * 2012–13
* U18 Premier League – Northern Champions: 1
   * 2017–18
* Premier Academy League U18 (Group): 3
   * 1998–99, 2000–01, 2009–10
* FA Youth Cup: 11
   * 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1964, 1992, 1995, 2003, 2011, 2022
* 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
* Milk Cup: 6
   * 1991, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014
* 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

| Director of Academy | Nick Cox |
| - | - |
| Head of Player Development and Coaching (U17-U23) | Travis Binnion |
| Under-21 Head Coach/Senior Academy Coach | Mark Dempsey |
| Under-21 Assistant Coach | Paul McShane |
| Under-21 Assistant Coach/Player | Tom Huddlestone |
| Professional Development Phase Coach | David Hughes |
| Lead Academy Goalkeeping Coach | Tommy Lee |
| Academy Goalkeeping Coach | Christopher Backhouse |
| Under-21 Performance Analyst | Curtis Quinn |
| Under-18 Head Coach | Travis Binnion |
| Under-18 Assistant Coach | Colin Little |
| Under-18 Goalkeeping Coach | Kevin Wolfe |
| Head of PDP Athletic Development (U17-U23) | Matt Walker |
| PDP Athletic Development Coach | Luke Lawrence |
| Under-21 Physiotherapists | Tom Hughes Russ Hayes |
| Under-18 Physiotherapists | Neil Hough Daniel Torpey |
| Head of Player Development & Coaching (U14-U16) | Adam Lawrence |
| Under-16 Lead Coach | Tommy Martin |
| Under-16 Assistant Coach | Adam Lawrence |
| Under-15 Lead Coach | Martin Drury |
| Under-14 Lead Coach | Rick Ashcroft |
| Head of Player Development & Coaching (U9-U13) | Eamon Mulvey |
| Under-13 Lead Coach | Hasney Aljofree |
| Under-12 Lead Coach | Lee Unsworth |
| Head of YDP Athletic Development (U12-U16) | Alex Ouzounoglou |
| PDP/YDP Academy Doctor | Dr Tony Gill Dr Dave Perry Dr Matthew Lancett |
| Head of PDP/YDP Physiotherapy | Diane Ryding |
| YDP Physiotherapists (U9-U16) | Daniel Torpey Eoghan Murray Gary Wakefield |

## 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. 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
* John Aston Sr.
* Ray Baartz
* Phil Bardsley
* David Beckham
* Di'Shon Bernard
* George Best
* Clayton Blackmore
* Jackie Blanchflower
* Mark Bosnich
* Robbie Brady
* Evandro Brandão
* Febian Brandy
* Shay Brennan
* Ronnie Briggs
* Wes Brown
* Alex Bruce
* Francis Burns
* Nicky Butt
* Roger Byrne
* Fraizer Campbell
* Johnny Carey
* Joe Carolan
* Craig Cathcart
* Bobby Charlton
* James Chester
* Tom Cleverley
* Kenny Cooper
* Hugh Curran
* Mats Møller Dæhli
* Alan Davies
* Simon Davies
* Danny Drinkwater
* Eamon Dunphy
* Mike Duxbury
* Duncan Edwards
* Magnus Wolff Eikrem
* Sadiq El Fitouri
* Anthony Elanga
* Corry Evans
* Jonny Evans
* Darren Fletcher
* Bill Foulkes
* Timothy Fosu-Mensah
* Ethan Galbraith
* Darron Gibson
* Ryan Giggs
* Johnny Giles
* Keith Gillespie
* Don Givens
* Shaun Goater
* Pierluigi Gollini
* Johnny Gorman
* Kenji Gorré
* Brian Greenhoff
* Mason Greenwood
* David Healy
* Tom Heaton
* Dean Henderson
* Jackie Hennessy
* Danny Higginbotham
* Mark Hughes
* Phil Hughes
* Nicholas Ioannou
* Zidane Iqbal
* Saidy Janko
* Adnan Januzaj
* David Johnson
* Sam Johnstone
* Michael Keane
* Will Keane
* Brian Kidd
* Joshua King
* Jovan Kirovski
* Tom Lawrence
* Dylan Levitt
* Jesse Lingard
* Shaun Lowther
* Jon Macken
* 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
* Stan Pearson
* David Pegg
* Andreas Pereira
* Anthony Pilkington
* Gerard Piqué
* David Platt
* Paul Pogba
* Marcus Rashford
* Kieran Richardson
* Jimmy Rimmer
* Jonny Rödlund
* Giuseppe Rossi
* Mike Rowbotham
* David Sadler
* Robbie Savage
* Paul Scholes
* Jackie Scott
* Ryan Shawcross
* Paul Sixsmith
* Paddy Sloan
* Jonathan Spector
* Michael Stewart
* Nobby Stiles
* John Thorrington
* Dennis Viollet
* Danny Welbeck
* Billy Whelan
* Norman Whiteside
* Matty Willock
* Marc Wilson
* Jamie Wood
* 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 |
