Manchester United reward talented young defender with first professional contract

Manchester United youngster Jack Kingdon has signed his first professional contract with the club.

The Manchester Evening News understands Kingdon has put pen to paper on his first professional deal, which is the reward for his excellent progress in the academy.

Kingdon played a crucial role for the Under-18s last season as they claimed the treble, regularly starting in central defence and wearing the captain’s armband on two occasions.

The MEN exclusively revealed Kingdon took part in first-team training for the first time in April. Last season’s U18s team were supremely talented and Kingdon made a total of 27 appearances in the academy, going from strength to strength in the club’s youth set up.

Kingdon, whose natural position is centre-back, delivered a string of impressive displays and now his pro deal is officially signed, he will attempt to make a senior debut.

Ethan Williams was the most recent academy youngster to be given his debut and the expectation inside United is that more debuts from last season’s U18 team will follow.

Kingdon’s quality helped the U18s concede just 28 league goals last term, the second-fewest in the division behind Manchester City, who conceded 27 goals.

The 18-year-old, who was born in Bolton, started his career with Greater Manchester grassroots club FC Strikerz Avengers before joining Morecambe at Under-12 level.

Kingdon notably made an appearance for Morecambe’s U18s when his age group was Under-14 level. United eventually signed the youngster for a six-figure sum in November 2020, following a successful two-week trial period at the club, and he’s made excellent progress since joining.

The defender played multiple positions at grassroots level, including as a striker and midfielder, but he’s since excelled at centre-back and he’s considered very strong, pacy and someone who can read the game well from the back.

Kingdon stands at 6ft 1in and briefly played rugby as a child but wanted to prioritise football. He was also a gifted athlete, as he once took gold medals in the 75m, 150m and 600m sprints at the Bolton United Harriers championships.

He has represented Scotland, whom he qualifies to represent through his father, at different youth levels and has worn the captain’s armband for his country.