Manchester United’s Jacob Devaney nominated for international player of the year award
· Yahoo Sports
Manchester United’s Jacob Devaney has been nominated for an award at the 36th Football Association of Ireland (FAI) International Awards.
The youngster has been recognised for his performances in the green of Ireland and has been named to a three-man shortlist for Ireland’s U21s player of the year.
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He has been nominated alongside Tottenham Hotspur’s (on loan at Lincoln City) Mason Melia and Wycombe Wanderers’ Jamie Mullins.
The award has previously been won by Manchester United academy graduates Robbie Brady and Lee O’Connor. Perhaps the most recognisable winner of the award is Jack Grealish, who switched allegiance shortly after to represent England.
Bright talent
Devaney has made 12 appearances for Ireland U21s, with the most recent coming in a thrilling 3-1 victory over England that sealed a play-off berth for the 2027 U21s European Championship.
The midfielder has been named in Ireland’s squad for the upcoming play-off double-header against Finland, which could see Ireland qualify for the U21s Euros for the first time ever.
He also recently captained his country in a friendly against Qatar U21s, an honour he has held with United’s U21s as well.
After a stellar loan last season at St. Mirren, Devaney impressed on United’s pre-season tour with a goal against Rosenborg BK but did not get a chance to show his full potential, being played out of position at centre-back rather than his more natural central midfield role.
A combative, press-resistant midfielder, Devaney’s consistency and versatility make him an asset to any team and could prove important to United’s lack of depth in the future.
Tough start to the season
The award nomination will provide confidence to the 19-year-old as he looks to get back on track after a rocky start to the season.
Looking to build upon his successful loan last season, Devaney returned to Scotland, moving up the table to Hibernian.
Devaney went straight into their starting XI, but a string of poor results to start the season actually sees them lying below St. Mirren in the table and, as a result, the manager who brought him to the club was sacked.
In his first appearance under the new manager, Marink Reedijk, Devaney unfortunately picked up a straight red card just seven minutes after being introduced from the bench.
To make matters worse, the red card challenge actually resulted in him getting injured, which has kept him out ever since.
The Midlothian View report that Devaney is nearing a return from injury, but he’ll need to impress Reedijk, who has said, “this is the difficulty for me because I’ve seen Jacob for two training sessions and five minutes on the pitch in Dundee. And after that, I haven’t seen him and worked with him.”
“Off the pitch, I have an idea of who he is as a person. But now I also want to see how he brings this to the pitch. And this I cannot judge on yet.”
Devaney’s return starts with Ireland U21s, though, and a potential player of the year award which will bring him the confidence to kick on and perhaps earn a spot back at United next season.
J. Devaney
Featured image Lewis Storey via Getty Images