Will Keane

As of match played 2 May 2026

Club

International

As of match played 7 September 2023

Manchester United

Keane worked his way up through the Manchester United academy, and made his first appearance for the under-18s on 21 April 2007 against Sheffield United, a game in which both sides had agreed to field their under-16 teams; at the age of 14, Keane came on as a substitute for goalscorer Tomos Roberts in the 77th minute of a 4–0 away win. His next appearance for the under-18s came almost two years later, when he started in central midfield in a 1–0 home defeat to Stoke City on 21 February 2009. Shortly before their 16th birthday earlier in the year, both Keanes were awarded three-year scholarships with Manchester United, which began in July 2009.

The following season, Keane became a regular starter for the under-18s, scoring 13 goals in 26 appearances in 2009–10, including all three goals in a 3–0 win at home to Manchester City; he also made several substitute appearances for the reserves. His reserve debut came as a substitute in a 1–0 league win away to Everton on 6 October 2009, and he scored his first goal five months later, in Manchester United's penultimate group match in the Manchester Senior Cup against Stockport County on 8 March 2010; after coming on for Nicky Ajose on the hour mark, Keane scored 14 minutes later to give Manchester United a 1–0 win. At the end of the season, Keane made a substitute appearance for the reserves in the Premier Reserve League Play-off Final against Aston Villa. After the game finished 1–1, the teams went to…

England youth

Born in England to an Irish father, Keane was eligible to play for either England or the Republic of Ireland. Keane debuted for the England under-16 team in a 3–1 win against Russia in 2009. He scored one goal in three appearances for the side. He was part of the England under-17 team that won the 2010 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship, appearing in the final. He made a total of 15 appearances and scored three goals for the team. He then progressed to the under-19 side where he made six appearances and scored one goal. He received a call up to the under-21 side managed by Stuart Pearce in November 2011, and received praise from Manchester United reserve team manager Warren Joyce, with Joyce saying Keane deserved the call up after his good form for the reserve team. He made his first appearance during a 5–0 win against Iceland, coming off the bench to replace midfielder Josh McEachran in the 78th minute. He appeared in the following game four days later against Belgium, this time coming on as a substitute for Marvin Sordell. On 25 May 2012, he scored twice as England under-19s beat Slovenia 5–0 at Deepdale.

Republic of Ireland

In 2019, it was reported that Keane was set to declare for the Republic of Ireland after he met with Ireland manager Mick McCarthy. In February 2019, in Ipswich match notes, he confirmed that he wanted to play for Ireland and that he hoped to be included in Ireland squads in the coming months, confirming that…

Born in Stockport, Greater Manchester, Keane and his twin brother Michael grew up in the suburb of Heaton Mersey and attended St Bede's College in south Manchester. They were spotted playing football for South Manchester by Manchester United at the age of 11, and soon joined the club's academy coaching system.