Brown says one Man Utd man is ‘excellent’ every time he plays, he’s featured for one minute under Carrick

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·29 de janeiro de 2026

Brown says one Man Utd man is ‘excellent’ every time he plays, he’s featured for one minute under Carrick

Wes Brown has heaped praise on Manchester United youngster Ayden Heaven – as well as Michael Carrick’s handling of him.

The 19-year-old prospect endured a slow start to the season at Old Trafford, featuring for just 28 minutes across two matches by the end of November.

Vídeos OneFootball

Then, when Matthijs de Ligt sustained an injury in the win over Crystal Palace and Harry Maguire was still sidelined with a thigh complaint, it paved the way for Heaven to be restored to the fold.

How Heaven has fared in 2025/2026 thus far

(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Around the hectic festive period, he started eight consecutive games at the back for United, doing so in the final fixtures of Ruben Amorim’s tenure and for Darren Fletcher’s brief spell in the dugout.

However, the centre-half subsequently dropped to the bench when Carrick took the reins, primarily because Maguire had only just reached match fitness and was ready to partner Lisandro Martinez.

As a result, Heaven played for just one minute in the dying embers of United’s emphatic Manchester derby triumph and was an unused substitute against his former club, Arsenal, when the Reds claimed their 3-2 victory in North London last Sunday.

Even though he’s having to be patient in waiting for game time, it goes without saying that the defender will play a key role for the club for years to come.

He has greatly impressed in the majority of his appearances thus far and is still at the point where he’s finding his feet in senior football.

*Heaven’s Premier League record since signing for United last winter (Transfermarkt)

Brown pours praise on young Heaven

(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

In fact, Brown singled Heaven out for praise when speaking on the Inside Carrington podcast (h/t UtdDistrict). He said: “When Ayden’s been in, he’s been excellent.

“And you’re still sort of waiting for him to do some sort of fault that you can see. You think, ‘Ok, learn.’ And he will always learn. And, you know, he’ll be learning every game and every training session.

“Because it’s very difficult to play at Manchester United, you know. To not make many mistakes and to stay focused at such a young age.

“And yes, he’s not been in the last couple of games. I think it’s perfect what Michael’s done – he’s put the more experienced players in. But Heaven will learn so much from Harry [Maguire].”