| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jacob Patrick John Deveney | ||
| Date of birth | 11 June 2007 | ||
| Place of birth | Barnsley, England | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | St Mirren (on loan from Manchester United) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Manchester United | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2025– | Manchester United | 0 | (0) |
| 2026– | → St Mirren (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2024–2025 | Republic of Ireland U19 | 5 | (0) |
| 2025– | Republic of Ireland U21 | 6 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 11:53, 4 February 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 11:53, 4 February 2026 (UTC) | |||
Jacob Patrick John Devaney (born 11 June 2007) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Scottish Premiership club St Mirren, on loan from Premier League club Manchester United and Republic of Ireland U21. [1]
Devaney joined the Manchester United Academy after being scouted playing locally in Yorkshire and joined their centre of excellence from the age of six years-old. He made his Manchester United U-18 debut at the age of 15 years-old. [2] [3]
Despite a stress fracture that ruled him out of action for over a year he signed scholarship terms with Manchester United. He had his first experience of training with the Manchester United first team during the 2023-24 season. [3] [4] In May 2025, he was named Manchester United Youth Scholar of the Year. [2] He trained with the first-team squad again under Ruben Amorin in the summer of 2025 pre-season. [5] In the 2025-26 season he captained the Manchester United U21 side at the age of 18 years-old. [2] In November 2025, he scored a solo goal against Notts County in the EFL Trophy, after running 70 yards. [6]
On 2 February 2026, Devaney joined Scottish Premiership side St Mirren on a season long loan. [7]
After declaring for Ireland in 2024, was called up to the Republic of Ireland U19 squad in September 2024. [3] [8] He made his Republic of Ireland U21 debut in June 2025 against Croatia U21. [9] [10]
Devaney has been described as a physical and press resistant defensive midfielder. [3] [5] He has also shown the ability to play in central defence at youth level. [11]
Born in Barnsley, England, Devaney is the son of football coach and former football player Martin Devaney. He has family in Foxrock, Shankill and Ballina. [3] [2]
| Club | Season | League | National cup [a] | League cup [b] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Manchester United U21 | 2024–25 [12] | — | — | — | 2 [c] | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2025–26 [13] | — | — | — | 3 [c] | 1 | 3 | 1 | |||||
| Total | — | — | — | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | |||||
| St Mirren (loan) | 2025–26 [13] | Scottish Premiership | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 2 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 2 | ||