6ft4in colossus says Michael Carrick has a player at his disposal who has ‘everything you want from a defender’

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Stretty News

·11 March 2026

6ft4in colossus says Michael Carrick has a player at his disposal who has ‘everything you want from a defender’

Harry Maguire has poured praise on up-and-coming Manchester United youngster Ayden Heaven.

The 19-year-old signed for United from Arsenal’s academy on deadline day last winter, putting pen to paper on a four-year deal at Carrington.

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How Heaven has fared at United

He proceeded to make his debut just a month after signing when coming off the bench to replace Maguire for extra-time of United’s fifth-round FA Cup clash with Fulham last season, before overseeing his maiden Premier League outing as a Red against his former club Arsenal a week later.

Heaven featured four more times in 2024/2025, with all of his appearances coming under Ruben Amorim.

Although United knew they were in for a quieter term due to their lack of European football this time around, they opted to keep the youngster at Old Trafford rather than sending him out on loan over the summer.

His most prominent spell came in the absence of both Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt, leading to Heaven making eight successive league starts. They marked the final matches of Amorim’s tenure, and the centre-half is still awaiting his first start under Michael Carrick.

Since the former Red took the reins in January, Heaven has made a one-minute cameo off the bench against Everton and played for five minutes in the closing stages of the win over Crystal Palace.

What Maguire had to say about Heaven

Weighing in on the development of his counterpart, Maguire told MUTV: “I think Ayden’s got real, real good ability in everything you want from a defender

“He’s quick, he’s strong, he’s really good on the ball, he’s calm, and I do believe Ayden will improve a lot with experience, but he’s a great lad.

“He’s willing to learn. He wants to learn.”