Ayden Edford Heaven (born 22 September 2006) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Manchester United.
Heaven joined the academy at West Ham United when he was eight years old, where he stayed for four years. After a trial with Chelsea, he joined the academy system at Arsenal, the club he had supported since childhood.[4] He signed a scholarship contract with Arsenal in the summer of 2023.[5] He trained with the Arsenal first team squad on occasion during the 2023–24 season.[6][7]
Heaven was heavily involved with Arsenal first team training during the 2024 summer pre-season, and was one of three youngsters, along with Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri, individually praised by manager Mikel Arteta in August 2024.[8] The following month he was included amongst the match-day substitutes for the North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.[9] He made his Arsenal debut on 30 October 2024, away at Preston North End in EFL Cup helping Arsenal win 3–0.[10]
On 1 February 2025, Heaven joined Manchester United for an undisclosed fee, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract with an option for an extra year.[11][12] He made his first-team debut coming on as a substitute against Fulham in the 2024–25 FA Cup fifth round.[13] On 9 March in the Premier League, he debuted for Manchester United against Arsenal. He came on as a second-half substitute, replacing Leny Yoro. He made his first start for Manchester United on 13 March 2025 in the Europa League round of 16 match against Real Sociedad. On 16 March 2025, he made his first Premier League start in an away match against Leicester City.
In May 2024, Heaven made his debut for the England U18 side against Northern Ireland.[14]
A naturally left-footed defender, Heaven has been deployed on the left of Manchester United's three-man backline where he has been able to display his channel defending and capability on the ball.[15][16][17]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Arsenal U21 | 2023–24[18] | — | — | — | — | 2[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| 2024–25[19] | — | — | — | — | 1[a] | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||||||
| Arsenal | 2024–25[19] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| Manchester United | 2024–25[19] | Premier League | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[b] | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2025–26[20] | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Total | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
Manchester United
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