// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Jacob Devaney a morning person? He's a de-bright guy, anyway.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jacob Patrick John Devaney | ||
| Date of birth | 11 June 2007 | ||
| Place of birth | Barnsley, England[1] | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
Hibernian (on loan from Manchester United) | ||
| Number | 24 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2013–2025 | Manchester United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2025– | Manchester United | 0 | (0) |
| 2026 | → St Mirren (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2026– | → Hibernian (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2024–2025 | Republic of Ireland U19 | 5 | (0) |
| 2025– | Republic of Ireland U21 | 9 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18 May 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 22:15, 9 June 2026 (UTC) | |||
Jacob Patrick John Devaney (/dɛˈveɪniː/, deh-VAY-nee; born 11 June 2007) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Hibernian, on loan from Premier League club Manchester United, and the Republic of Ireland under-21 team.[2]
Club career
[edit]Manchester United
[edit]Devaney joined the Manchester United Academy after being scouted playing locally in Yorkshire and joined their centre of excellence from the age of six years-old. He made his Manchester United U-18 debut at the age of 15 years-old.[3][4]
Despite a stress fracture that ruled him out of action for over a year, he signed scholarship terms with Manchester United. He had his first experience of training with the Manchester United first team during the 2023-24 season.[4][5] In May 2025, he was named Manchester United Youth Scholar of the Year.[3] He trained with the first-team squad again under Ruben Amorim in the summer of 2025 pre-season.[6] In the 2025-26 season, he captained the Manchester United U21 side at the age of 18 years-old.[3] In November 2025, he scored a solo goal against Notts County in the EFL Trophy, after running 70 yards.[7]
St Mirren loan
[edit]On 2 February 2026, Devaney joined Scottish Premiership side St Mirren on loan until the end of the season.[8][9] He made 18 appearances for St Mirren during the 2025–26 season, scoring one goal.[10]
Hibernian loan
[edit]After featuring for Manchester United's first-team during pre-season, on 23 August 2026 he signed for Hibernian on a season-long loan deal with the option of making the transfer permanent.[10][11][12]
International career
[edit]After declaring for Ireland in 2024, was called up to the Republic of Ireland U19 squad in September 2024.[4][13] He made his Republic of Ireland U21 debut in June 2025 against Croatia U21.[14][15]
Style of play
[edit]Devaney has been described as a physical and press resistant defensive midfielder.[4][6] He has also shown the ability to play in central defence at youth level.[16]
Personal life
[edit]Born in Barnsley, England, Devaney is the son of football coach and former football player Martin Devaney. He has family in Foxrock, Shankill and Ballina.[4][3]
Career statistics
[edit]Club
[edit]- As of match played 17 May 2026
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Manchester United U21 | 2024–25[17] | — | — | — | 2[c] | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2025–26[18] | — | — | — | 3[c] | 1 | 3 | 1 | |||||
| Total | — | — | — | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | |||||
| St Mirren (loan) | 2025–26[18] | Scottish Premiership | 13 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 16 | 1 | ||
| Hibernian (loan) | 2026–27[19] | Scottish Premiership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career total | 13 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 21 | 2 | ||
- ↑ Includes Scottish Cup
- ↑ Includes Scottish League Cup
- 1 2 Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
References
[edit]- 1 2 "Jacob Devaney: Career, Stats & Clubs". worldfootball.net.
- ↑ "Jacob Devaney". Soccerway. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 "'There have been top Irish players at Manchester United, so hopefully I can be one of the next' – Jacob Devaney on life as a Red Devil". independent.ie. 24 November 2025. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 O'Donoghue, Conor (22 September 2024). "Interview: Martin Devaney opens up about son Jacob Devaney's Ireland call-up and Manchester United journey". The Irish Post. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
- ↑ Price, Ryan (4 September 2024). "Highly rated Manchester United youngster declares for Ireland". Sportsjoe.ie. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
- 1 2 Oleksii, Yani (11 August 2025). "Manchester United youngster spotted in first-team training - he's compared to Declan Rice. A new rising star?". Tribuna.com. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
- ↑ "Man Utd U21s Jacob Devaney runs SEVENTY yards before brilliant finish!". Sky Sports. 5 November 2025. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
- ↑ "Jacob Devaney joins on loan from Manchester United". St Mirren. 2 February 2026. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
- ↑ Stone, Simon (11 May 2026). "Jacob Devaney: Man Utd kid making a big impact with St Mirren". BBC Sport.
- 1 2 "Manchester United's Jacob Devaney joins Hibs on loan". BBC Sport. 23 August 2026. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
- ↑ https://www.hibernianfc.co.uk/news/2026/august/23/jacob-devaney-joins-from-manchester-united/
- ↑ "Ireland U-21 star Jacob Devaney joins Hibs on loan from Manchester United". Irish Independent. 23 August 2026.
- ↑ "Manchester United teen Jacob Devaney declares for Ireland". Irish Examiner. 2 September 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
- ↑ "REPORT - Croatia U21 1-0 Ireland U21". fai.ie. 6 June 2025. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
- ↑ McGoey, Sean (21 May 2025). "Two Manchester United Players Included In Crawford's Ireland U21 squad". Balls.ie. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
- ↑ Stone, Simon (13 November 2025). "Who are Man Utd's most promising youth prospects?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
- ↑ "Games played by Jacob Devaney in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
- 1 2 "Games played by Jacob Devaney in 2025/2026". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
- ↑ "Games played by Jacob Devaney in 2026/2027". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
- Living people
- 2007 births
- Footballers from Barnsley
- Republic of Ireland men's association footballers
- Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers
- English men's footballers
- English people of Irish descent
- Irish people of English descent
- Men's association football midfielders
- Manchester United F.C. players
- St Mirren F.C. players
- Hibernian F.C. players
- Scottish Professional Football League players