It’s a select crop of youngsters who make a teenage debut for serial English Premier League champions Manchester United.
You may be surprised to learn that club legends Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney all fail to make the list, despite making their EPL debuts for the club at 18 years of age.
Angel Gomes made his Old Trafford bow against Crystal Palace as a 16-year-old in 2017, pipping Mason Greenwood, who first appeared in a defeat at Arsenal in March 2019.
Nicky Butt is the only member of the famous ‘Class of ‘92’ to make the list of youngest debutants, with the local lad still 17 when he featured in the first Premier League season against Oldham, all the way back in 1992.
More recently, strikers Danny Welbeck and Federico Macheda were given their debuts as 17-year-olds in 2008 and 2009 respectively, while midfielder James Garner first appeared at the same age away at Crystal Palace in 2019.
| Player | Age at the time |
|---|---|
| Angel Gomes | 16 years 08 months 20 days |
| Mason Greenwood | 17 years 05 months 07 days |
| Federico Macheda | 17 years 07 months 14 days |
| Nicky Butt | 17 years 10 months 00 days |
| James Garner | 17 years 11 months 14 days |
| Danny Welbeck | 17 years 11 months 20 days |
| Phil Neville | 18 years 21 days |
| Kieran Richardson | 18 years 01 month 02 days |
| Rafael | 18 years 01 month 08 days |
| Timothy Fosu-Mensah | 18 years 01 month 26 days |
Manchester United’s other debutants of legal drinking age in the EPL era include long-serving Phil Neville, Marcus Rashford, Wes Brown, Gerard Pique, Giuseppe Rossi and a certain Paul Pogba, whose two Old Trafford spells sandwich a sojurn with Juventus before a big-money comeback.
Youngest Premier League Players: Manchester United
*Data from transfermarkt, figures correct at the time of writing.
Extra Time Media’s coverage blends both timely topics like match predictions using data and graphics, as well as more evergreen content covering widespread topics, including gaming.