Manchester United F.C. Reserves and Academy


Manchester United Football Club Under-23s 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 three outfield players and one goalkeeper over the age of 23 per game following the introduction of new regulations from the 2016–17 season, an increase from the age of 21 which was introduced in 2012–13.
They were champions of the former Premier Reserve League five times 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 and from 2019–20, the nationwide EFL Trophy along with senior teams from levels 3 and 4 of the English football league system, which is restricted to players aged 21 and under for teams from levels 1 and 2.
The team's manager is currently Neil Wood who took over from Ricky Sbragia in 2019. 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-23s

Current squad

Out on loan

Manager history

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. 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. 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 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 Academy players

As of 6 September 2019

Honours

The following is a list of players who have played in the Manchester United youth team and represented a country 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.
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		Denzil Haroun
Reserve Team Player of the Year
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
2006–07Craig CathcartKieran Lee
2007–08Danny WelbeckRichard Eckersley
2008–09Federico MachedaJames Chester
2009–10Will KeaneRitchie De Laet
2010–11Ryan TunnicliffeOliver Gill
2011–12Mats Møller DæhliMichael Keane
2012–13Ben PearsonAdnan Januzaj
2013–14James WilsonSaidy Janko
2014–15Axel TuanzebeAndreas Pereira
2015–16Marcus RashfordCameron Borthwick-Jackson
2016–17Angel GomesAxel Tuanzebe
2017–18Tahith ChongDemetri Mitchell
2018–19Mason GreenwoodTahith Chong