Manchester United are renowned for developing brilliant young footballers, but their winners of the Academy Player of the Year award this century haven’t always gone on to success.
The award is named after Jimmy Murphy, who worked at Old Trafford for over 25 years as assistant manager, first-team coach, reserves manager and scout.
We’ve taken a look back at every recipient of the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year since 2000.
1999-00 – Bojan Djordjic
One of the Premier League one-game wonders we couldn’t track down, Djordic’s solitary United appearance came in a 3-1 defeat to Tottenham in May 2001.
The winger then embarked on a nomadic career with spells in the Football League, Denmark, Serbia, Hungary, Belgium, Sweden and India.
Djordjic’s career has come full circle, as he now works as a pundit for MUTV and Swedish television.
He’s been outspoken about the club’s transfer policy, telling Swedish station Expressen in 2019: “The problem has been that the leadership figures and big stars like Paul Scholes, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Wayne Rooney have not been replaced with enough good players.
“But money has nevertheless been spent because the player recruitment and the things behind the scenes have been more about making money than caring about the sport.”
READ: The Premier League one-game wonders we simply couldn’t track down
2000-01 – Alan Tate
Despite captaining United’s reserves, Tate never made a first-team appearance for the club before going on to establish himself as a Swansea stalwart.
The defender initially joined Swansea in 2002, helping the Welsh outfit avoid relegation from the Football League before playing an integral part in their incredible rise to the top flight.
Tate retired in 2016 after a short spell with Port Talbot Town before returning to Swansea as youth coach, revealing in 2018 that he had received some tips from his former United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
He became an assistant first-team coach at Swansea in September 2019, later serving as caretaker manager, and is now back alongside Steve Cooper at Nottingham Forest.
2001-02 – Paul Tierney
No, not the referee. This Tierney did actually get to taste senior football with the Red Devils, appearing in a League Cup defeat to second-tier West Brom in December 2003.
But the left-back dropped down the divisions thereafter and was last seen spending a month at Altrincham in 2008 when he was still just 26.
2002-03 – Ben Collett
A sad…
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