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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 Adam Lawrence, who took over from Travis Binnion in 2026.

Under-21s
The first record of any matches played by the Manchester United reserve team dates back to 6 October 1883, when the club was still known as Newton Heath LYR F.C., a 4–1 defeat away to Pendleton Olympic Reserves. They predominantly played friendlies for their first nine seasons, although they entered the first four seasons of the Lancashire Junior Cup, starting in 1885–86; they won just one of their five matches played in the competition over those four years, beating Churchtown in October 1887, before losing to Park Lane Wanderers in the next round. only missing out on second place by virtue of an inferior goal average. That final position was only matched by a further third-place finish in 1895–96, In 1911, the club became founder members of the Central League, winning their first league title in its second season in 1912–13. Out on loan Managerial history HonoursPremier League 2: 32012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16Premier Reserve LeaguePlay-off Final Winners: (4) 2005, 2006, 2010, 2012 • Northern Champions: (5) 2002, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2012 • Central League: 9 • 1912–13, 1920–21, 1938–39, 1946–47, 1955–56, 1959–60, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97 • Central League Division 1 West: 1 • 2005 • Central League Cup: 1 • 2005 • Manchester Senior Cup: 10 • 1999, 2000, 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 • SuperCupNI: 1 • 2017 ==Under-18s==
Under-18s
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 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 Honours Under–18 TeamU18 Premier LeagueNational 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, 2022U18 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 • 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 Doubles and TreblesTreblesU18 Premier League, U18 Premier League North, U18 Premier League Cup(1): 2023–24 Under–16 TeamU16 Premier League Shield: 2 • 2024–25, 2025–26 • SuperCupNI: 7 • 1991, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2022 Under–15 TeamU15 Premier League Super Cup: 1 • 2024–25 • U15 Premier League Cup North: 1 • 2024–25 ==Staff==
Staff
==Notable youth team players==
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 AckerleyAdnan AhmedArthur AlbistonAmad DialloJohn Aston Sr.Ray BaartzPhil BardsleyBebéDavid BeckhamMylan BenjaminDi'Shon BernardGeorge BestClayton BlackmoreJackie BlanchflowerMark BosnichRobbie BradyEvandro BrandãoFebian BrandyShay BrennanBen Brereton DíazRonnie BriggsWes BrownAlex BruceDJ BuffongeFrancis BurnsNicky ButtRoger ByrneFraizer CampbellJohnny CareyJoe CarolanCraig CathcartBobby CharltonJames ChesterTahith ChongTom CleverleyKenny CooperHugh CurranMats Møller DæhliAlan DaviesSimon DaviesOliver DenhamRitchie De LaetDanny DrinkwaterJoe DudgeonJimmy DunneEamon DunphyMike DuxburyDuncan EdwardsMagnus Wolff EikremSadiq El FitouriAnthony ElangaCorry EvansJonny EvansFabioDong FangzhuoDarren FletcherBill FoulkesTimothy Fosu-MensahEthan GalbraithAlejandro GarnachoDarron GibsonRyan GiggsJohnny GilesKeith GillespieDon GivensShaun GoaterPierluigi GolliniAngel GomesArthur GómezJohnny GormanKenji GorréSean GossBrian GreenhoffMason GreenwoodTommy HamiltonRaheem HanleyDavid HealyTom HeatonDean HendersonJackie HennessyÁngelo HenríquezDanny HigginbothamMark HughesPhil HughesEtzaz HussainNikolas IoannouZidane IqbalSaidy JankoAdnan JanuzajDavid JohnsonSam JohnstoneMichael KeaneWill KeaneOtis KhanBrian KiddJoshua KingJovan KirovskiMatěj KovářTom LawrenceDiego LeónDylan LevittJesse LingardShaun LowtherJon MackenKobbie MainooSouleymane MamamDavid McCreeryLuke McCulloughWilf McGuinnessSammy McIlroyAlan McLoughlinSammy McMillanPaddy McNairPaul McShaneScott McTominayHannibal MejbriJackie MooneyKalam MooniaruckJohnny MorrisRavel MorrisonPhilip MulryneColin MurdockDaniel NardielloGary NevillePhil NevilleJimmy NichollJimmy NicholsonOliver NorwoodLee O'ConnorKieran O'HaraJohn O'SheaPeter O'SullivanMatthew OlosundeJames OveryMaxi OyedeleStan PearsonDavid PeggFacundo PellistriAndreas PereiraAnthony PilkingtonGerard PiquéDavid PlattPaul PogbaDennis PoliticRegan PooleRafaelMarcus RashfordKieran RichardsonJimmy RimmerJonny RödlundGiuseppe RossiMike RowbothamDavid SadlerCharlie SavageRobbie SavageJames ScanlonLuca ScanlonPaul ScholesJackie ScottRyan ShawcrossPaul SixsmithPaddy SloanJonathan SpectorMichael StewartNobby StilesMartin ŠviderskýJordan ThompsonJohn ThorringtonZoran TošićSean TseAxel TuanzebeGuillermo VarelaFrédéric VeseliDennis ViolletDanny WelbeckBilly WhelanNorman WhitesideRo-Shaun WilliamsMatty WillockMarc WilsonJamie WoodHussein YasserRon-Robert Zieler ==Players of the Year==
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==
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