When Ayden Heaven strode out onto the Old Trafford pitch ahead of Manchester United taking on Crystal Palace at the start of February, many raised eyebrows, questioning whether he was really the first-team player the club had made him out to be.
Heaven arrived with only one senior appearance to his name at Arsenal, a 10-minute cameo in a Carabao Cup game against Preston North End in October 2024. And the only time United fans might have seen him play was when he was run ragged by Rasmus Hojlund during a friendly against the Gunners last summer in Los Angeles.
And though he had been praised by Mikel Arteta during that pre-season tour, there was doubt over whether he was ready for senior football when he joined United aged 18. But inside Old Trafford the messaging was clear: Heaven was arriving as a first-team player — and it wouldn’t be long before the fans understood what those behind the scenes already knew.
Privately, technical director Jason Wilcox was hugely excited. He was central to convincing Heaven to swap Arsenal for United, convincing him the pathway to first-team prosperity was at Old Trafford, not the Emirates Stadium.
Chido Obi, who had made the same move from north London to Manchester a few months prior, did his work too as ‘Agent Chido’, as he put it.
He has now made six appearances for United and fans are already pushing for him to be a starter next season. At just £1.5million, Heaven’s move could prove one of the smartest bits of business in well over a decade by United.
At just £1.5million, Ayden Heaven’s move could prove one of the smartest bits of business in well over a decade by United
Heaven scored the third goal in United’s 3-1 post-season friendly victory over Hong Kong
Chido Obi, who made the same move as Heaven a few months prior, helped convince him to move to Old Trafford
Heaven’s journey to becoming a Premier League player has been one laced with setbacks. It is one of the reasons many insiders at United feel he is so physically and mentally robust now.
Raised by single mum, Lisa, Heaven’s footballing journey started at the age of five with Edmonton United before he soon began generating a buzz among scouts across London.
Aged eight he was invited to trial by West Ham and within 24 hours he was signed.
But after four years at West Ham, Heaven was let go and was left questioning whether he had the capabilities to genuinely make it as a top-level player.
His pivot was to join Sunday League side Levels FC in Barking, east London, where he worked with Terry Bobie, who also worked as a Chelsea scout alongside running this elite-level grassroots side, to rediscover his love of the game.
‘It was a knock for him and his worry was whether he would get back into the system,’ Bobie told Mail Sport. ‘It wasn’t easy because everything was stop-start. He played a friendly for us and he was training with me on a regular basis one-to-one every week.
‘I sent him into Chelsea for a trial but he was unsuccessful there and then I passed him onto my friend at Arsenal. Prior to that he had gone into Fulham and Tottenham. People had different opinions on him.’
At Levels FC he arrived as a gangly midfielder, but one that was streets ahead of his peers. He would spend just a year out of the elite academies before Arsenal snapped him up and eventually signed him to scholarship terms in 2023.
Heaven (second left) made just one senior appearance for Arsenal and came through with the likes of Ethan Nwaneri (furthest left) and Myles Lewis-Skelly (furthest right)
Heaven is close to Patrick Dorgu (left) who was presented alongside him at the Crystal Palace match in February
He has now made six senior appearances for United and is proving his worth as a first-teamer
‘He was a central midfielder, left-footed, very gangly, but good on the ball,’ Bobie explained. ‘He has that Paul Pogba-esque swagger. He doesn’t really rush things which you can see to this day. He is so relaxed and he just does things at his pace.
‘When I was coaching him I’d say “Ayden, come on man, game pace” but you have to take a step back and look at it from the perspective of he could see things the average kid doesn’t see.
‘He executes things really well and that stood out for me. He’s always been technically very, very good on the ball.’
It was that composure that really struck Ruben Amorim and his staff most when he got to work after joining Manchester United.
Heaven is an introverted character but one that is incredibly inquisitive and is constantly asking questions of coaches during sessions.
‘When you have a player as young as he is and playing at such a level, you cannot put limitations on where he can end up,’ former Arsenal academy coach Alex Nichols, who worked with Heaven from the age of 14 and brought through Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly in the same group, told Mail Sport.
‘He asks very probing questions when he is given new tasks, is very engaging and quiet but he has a calm self-assuredness about him.’
Quiet is the word that was closely associated with Heaven in the first few weeks at United. He keeps a very small inner circle and can take a while to open up.
Quiet is the word that was closely associated with Heaven in the first few weeks at United
Ruben Amorim watched closely as Heaven handled the setback of a serious injury at Leicester City to get himself back into the fold
Heaven spent four years in the Arsenal academy after four with West Ham
He is closest to fellow mid-season arrival Patrick Dorgu in the dressing room, while Amad Diallo and Toby Collyer are close friends of Heaven having all bonded during their spells out injured.
‘He’s a cheeky chap but he is quiet,’ Bobie, a long time mentor of Heaven, said. ‘He’s not loud, he doesn’t roar, but he has a nice little joke here or there. He’s very humble and I think mum has done a really good job with him.
‘Once he gets comfortable he’ll be a bit cheeky and funny but he’s not one of them that is going to go into the changing room and try and be the main man or anything like that. He’s relaxed.’
Lisa was pinpointed by multiple sources as being a key figure in Heaven’s rise from released youngster to Premier League rising star. She now runs her own agency called Rare Diamond Management and acts as her son’s agent.
‘Beautiful way to end the season,’ she wrote after Ayden scored the final goal of United’s post-season tour of the Far East, wrapping up a 3-1 win over a Hong Kong XI in which Chido had scored the other two goals. ‘To be continued…’
That ‘cheeky’ side of the 18-year-old came to the fore on the post-season tour which, if disastrous in a number of ways including a 1-0 defeat by the ASEAN All-Stars, was a huge positive in helping bring out a different side of Heaven.
He was chosen by the club to undertake one of their many commercial commitments in Malaysia alongside Joshua Zirkzee, Matthjis de Ligt and Dorgu, where each of them introduced themselves to the crowd in Malay.
Heaven smiled, laughed, looked relaxed and looked like a player that has shed any doubt as to whether he belongs in a first-team dressing room.
He was chosen by the club to undertake one of their many commercial commitments in Malaysia
Heaven made the United bench for the Europa League final defeat by Tottenham in Bilbao
Few will be able to remember much from the first time he pulled on a United shirt. Mail Sport was one of couple of hundred people huddled together on an icy-cold night at Leigh Sports Village where Heaven played 45 minutes for the club’s Under 21s side against Fulham.
Scouts were wowed by the level of control he had on a game that ultimately unravelled for United after he went off, losing 1-0 with a Fulham goal in the second half.
His calmness, his self-assuredness and his physical frame made it clear that he would find bridging the gap to first team football far more straightforward than most.
‘What you are seeing with a calm, self-assured player on the pitch is actually a reflection of his personality,’ Nicholls added. ‘That very often gives players the best opportunity long term because he always has that confidence but he’s also consistent and an enthusiastic learner who is constantly accumulating new information which will add to his game and further develop his game.
‘As he’s got older and older I think he’s become more and more effective because he’s able to apply what he knows with his high coachability but he also has this ability to stay calm in high-pressure moments.’
So, Nicholls knew, as did Bobie, that when Heaven was handed his full debut in the Europa League against Real Sociedad at Old Trafford, he was never going to freeze under the spotlight.
At 18 years and 172 days old, Heaven became the youngest United player to start a major European knockout game since Marcus Rashford back in 2016.
What United fans marvelled at that night was a performance where Heaven won 100 per cent of his duels, completed 42 of 48 passes, made three tackles, two interceptions and didn’t concede a foul. It was as veteran a performance as he could have plugged in.
Heaven made his Premier League debut for United against his former club in March
A first start came four days later against Real Sociedad in the Europa League
‘He’s 18, but he plays like he’s 28,’ former United midfielder Owen Hargreaves said. ‘He always makes the right decisions. When you see a young kid, you can just tell if he’s got it, and he’s got it.’
Wayne Rooney, who has been where Heaven is, was another to have been blown away by the player’s level.
‘I came in as an 18-year-old at United and you do feel that pressure, but to come in as a centre back – which is obviously a position where you can’t afford to make mistakes, otherwise you get punished – is very difficult,’ Rooney said. ‘He looks like he’s been there for years and that’s the biggest compliment I can give him.’
Heaven is a shining light of prosperity at a time when doom and gloom reigns supreme over Manchester United.
Leaving Arsenal was hard on him as a boyhood Arsenal fan from north London that grew up idolising Alexis Sanchez. But at United he now has the chance to establish himself as a starter for one of the world’s biggest clubs before turning 19.
An option at left centre back in Amorim’s system, or even as the central centre back where he thrived and scored in Hong Kong last week may prove to be his long-term position. There, he will challenge veterans De Ligt, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez for a starting role, with another rising young star in Leny Yoro, who is just 10 months older than Heaven, looking set to lock down another centre back spot.
Or, as Bobie thinks, Manchester United may have the ball-playing midfielder they crave so much right under their nose.
‘He can do so much. I think there is more to come from his locker and I know he can play midfield for Manchester United, 100 per cent, if given the opportunity.
Heaven has now established himself as a first-team squad member
How much will Arsenal come to regret letting Heaven go to one of their biggest rivals?
‘It’s early days but once he grows into it and gets confident I know he can play in midfield.
‘From when I used to work with him the range of his passing is nuts, it’s crazy. He’s got a good eye for goal, too. There is more to come if he is made to feel comfortable enough to express himself in that way.’
Amorim watched closely as Heaven handled the setback of a serious injury at Leicester City to get himself back into the fold. He has said himself that Manchester United need more Heaven-type players in their team. United’s hierarchy are using Heaven and Chido as the sales pitch to other top academy players.
With a manager that believes the sky is the limit for his potential, a cheeky personality coming to the fore and a starting spot up for grabs next season, safe to say nobody is raising their eyebrows anymore.
