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

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.
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 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
Out on loan
Manager history
Honours
Professional Development League 1/Premier League 2
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: 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
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 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 16 September 2023
2023 intake
The following players are confirmed to be part of the intake for the 2023–24 season as of 19 July 2023.
Honours
U18 Premier League – National Champions: U18 Premier League – Northern Champions: 12017–18Premier Academy League U18 (Group): 31998–99, 2000–01, 2009–10FA Youth Cup: 111953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1964, 1992, 1995, 2003, 2011, 2022Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup: 181954, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 2004, 2005Champions Youth Cup: 1 2007Milk Cup: 61991, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014Lancashire League Division One: 121954–55, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1992–93, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98Lancashire League Division Two: 51964–65, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1988–89, 1996–97Lancashire League Division One Supplementary Cup: 41954–55, 1955–56, 1959–60, 1963–64Lancashire League Division Two Supplementary Cup: 101955–56, 1956–57, 1959–60, 1961–62, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1976–77
Staff
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
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
Tom Cleverley
Kenny Cooper
Hugh Curran
Mats Møller Dæhli
Alan Davies
Simon Davies
Ritchie De Laet
Amad Diallo Danny Drinkwater
Eamon Dunphy
Mike Duxbury
Duncan Edwards
Magnus Wolff Eikrem
Sadiq El Fitouri
Anthony Elanga
Corry Evans
Jonny Evans Fábio
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
Brian Greenhoff
Mason Greenwood 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
Tom Lawrence
Dylan Levitt
Jesse Lingard
Shaun Lowther
Jon Macken
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
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
Sean Tse
Guillermo Varela
Dennis Viollet
Danny Welbeck
Billy Whelan
Norman Whiteside
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".
References
External links
Man Utd Under-21s (official site)
Man Utd Academy (official site)
Premier Reserve League North
Reserves and Academy
Football academies in England
Lancashire Combination
Lancashire League (football)
1878 establishments in England
Association football clubs established in 1878
Premier League International Cup
UEFA Youth League teams
NextGen series