| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ayden Edford Heaven [1] | ||
| Date of birth | 22 September 2006 | ||
| Place of birth | Enfield, London, England | ||
| Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Manchester United | ||
| Number | 26 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2015–2019 | West Ham United | ||
| 2020–2025 | Arsenal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2024–2025 | Arsenal | 0 | (0) |
| 2025– | Manchester United | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2024 | England U18 | 2 | (0) |
| 2024– | England U19 | 2 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:15, 1 August 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:19, 25 September 2024 (UTC) | |||
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. [2] He signed a scholarship contract with Arsenal in the summer of 2023. [3] He trained with the Arsenal first team squad on occasion during the 2023–24 season. [4] [5]
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. [6] The following month he was included amongst the match-day substitutes for the North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League. [7] He made his Arsenal debut on 30 October 2024, away at Preston North End in EFL Cup helping Arsenal win 3–0. [8]
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. [9] [10]
In May 2024, Heaven made his debut for the England U18 side against Northern Ireland. [11]
Heaven is considered capable of playing as a box-to-box central midfielder as well as in defence, central or left-sided. [12] [13] [14]
| 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 [15] | — | — | — | — | 2 [a] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| 2024–25 [16] | — | — | — | — | 1 [a] | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||||||
| Arsenal | 2024–25 [16] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| Manchester United | 2024–25 [16] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||