Manchester United have allowed under-21 captain Jacob Devaney to join St Mirren on loan with the teenage star adamant he needs to play senior football.
Jacob Devaney captains Manchester United’s Under-21 team
Manchester United Under-21 captain Jacob Devaney believes he has “proved himself” at that level and needs to play senior football after securing a move to St Mirren for the remainder of the campaign.
The 18-year-old has come up through the ranks at Old Trafford and is playing well beyond his years in a coaching role, but has headed north of the border until the summer with the aim of further development.
St Mirren swooped in on deadline day, with United allowing the Under-21 captain to depart for Paisley, which Devaney himself saw as the ideal landing spot moving forward with his right to the first team on the line.
He told Sky Sports: “I feel like I’m at the age where I’m ready to play men’s football and I feel like I’ve proven myself as an Under-21 player and this is the perfect club to do that. When the offer came, it was an easy decision to make right away.”
Devaney added that his parent club were very supportive of his departure: “They told me to use this as an opportunity to develop, play men’s football, learn the game and come back in the summer a better player. There’s definitely a way to go at United. They’re known for developing academy players and this is a good stepping stone for me.”
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Devaney has been a key figure in United’s Under-21 set-up this season, playing every game under two different coaches, first Travis Binion and then Tom Curtis. He played in a number of positions, including central defence, right-back and central midfield, with the United team spending most of the season at the top of Premier League 2.
St Mirren won the Scottish League Cup earlier this season, beating Celtic in the final at Hampden Park. Since that win, their league results have been poor, languishing in 10th place, but they believe Devaney can give them a new impetus.
The teenager will play a season at St Mirren (Image: St Mirren)
Manager Stephen Robinson said: “Jacob gives us something we don’t have. We haven’t really replaced Caolan Boyd-Mance and with Keanu (Backus) injured, we haven’t had the coordination between defense and midfield in recent weeks.”
“He is highly regarded as a young player at Manchester United, so we are looking forward to having him come on board. He regularly plays U21 football for Manchester United and could be brought in at the deep end due to our injuries, but we believe he has the mentality to cope and is a player we feel can make an impact.”
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