Jimmy Davis

Manchester United

Davis signed as a youth trainee at Manchester United in July 1999. He played in the Jersey Tournament in August that year, playing in the win over Rangers and the defeat against Benfica. At the end of the month, he signed a professional contract with United. On 25 September, Davis scored a hat-trick in a FA Premier Academy League under-19 match against Stoke City; United won the game 5−0. He also played in the 2−1 defeat to Nottingham Forest in the FA Youth Cup third round at Gigg Lane. He started to feature for the reserves more regularly at the beginning of 2000, and he scored in the Premier Reserve League match against Bradford City in February. On 2 May, he played in the Manchester Senior Cup final at Boundary Park; he replaced Darren Fletcher as United won 2−0 against Oldham Athletic. Davis featured in the Bayern Munich Centenary Youth Tournament in August 2000; he played in four games and scored against Bayern Munich and Spartak Moscow. On 28 September, he scored as United beat Bury 8−1 in the Manchester Senior Cup. His next goal came in the return game with Bury at the end of November. He concluded his season by taking part in a second successive Manchester Senior Cup final. He started the game against Manchester City, but United lost 4−1 at Old Trafford.

Royal Antwerp (loan)

In late 2000, Davis joined Belgian Pro League club Royal Antwerp on loan until the end of the season. United had a relationship with Antwerp at the time that…

Under-16s

Davis represented England at the 1999 UEFA European Under-16 Championship. On 2 May 1999, he featured in the quarter-final defeat against host nation Czech Republic; he replaced Jamie McMaster in the 86th minute as England lost 1−0 after extra time.

Under-18s

Davis played for the England under-18s in the win against Belgium in November 2000.

Under-20s

Davis made his debut for the England under-20s in November 2001; he started the win against Portugal at St Mary's Stadium before being replaced by Andrew Johnson. On 13 March 2002, he scored two goals in the win against Finland at the Reebok Stadium. He was a part of the squad that participated in the Toulon Tournament in May 2002; he featured in four games, scoring the winning goal in the group game against Portugal, as England finished in fourth place. He received the "Le joueur le + courtois" award, translated as being the most courteous player in the tournament. These were his last appearances for the U20s. Overall, Davis earned seven caps and scored three goals.

Davis was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. He lived in Redditch and attended Marlfield Farm First School and later Arrow Vale High School. He played football from an early age, firstly with a Cubs team, and then with junior sides of local clubs Feckenham and Knowle.