Tom Cleverley

Thomas William Cleverley (born 12 August 1989) is an English football coach and former professional player who played as a midfielder.

He is currently interim head coach at Watford.

After starting his career in the youth set-up at Bradford City, Cleverley joined Manchester United at the age of 12.

He was part of Bradford City's youth set-up, but joined Manchester United as an 11-year-old trainee in July 2000.

During the 2005–06 season, he made nine appearances for the under-18 team.

He also received a taste of reserve team football when he was named on the bench for the team's 4–1 away win over Everton on 21 February 2006.

Between 2007 and 2009, he played for Manchester United's reserve team and occasionally in first-team friendlies.

His first appearance for the reserves came in a 0–0 away draw to Bolton Wanderers almost a year later, on 15 February 2007, by which time he had become a regular in the under-18 team.

However, just over a month later, he suffered a long-term injury and was ruled out for seven months.

He returned to action in October 2007, playing for the reserves in a 1–1 home draw with Liverpool.

The 2007–08 season marked Cleverley's emergence as a regular in the Manchester United reserve team, making 21 appearances as the team went on to win both the Manchester Senior Cup and the Lancashire Senior Cup, in which he scored in the final against Liverpool.

He also scored his first goals in a Manchester United shirt on 23 January 2008, when he scored both of United's goals in a 2–0 away win over Bolton Wanderers in the Premier Reserve League.

His consistent performances for the reserves earned him the captaincy of the team in the absence of regular captain Sam Hewson, as well as a nomination for the Denzil Haroun Reserve Player of the Year award – he lost out to Richard Eckersley.

In recognition of his performances for the reserves, on 24 July 2008, Cleverley was called up to the Manchester United first team for the remainder of their tour of South Africa and the match against Portsmouth in Nigeria.

He made his first-team debut against Kaizer Chiefs in the final of the 2008 Vodacom Challenge, coming on in place of Rodrigo Possebon at half-time, before he scored the third of United's four goals just after the hour mark.

He returned to regular reserve team duty for the 2008–09 season, but was given a first-team squad number – 35 – when the first-team squad list was announced on 15 August 2008, and was named on the bench for United's League Cup matches against Middlesbrough and Queens Park Rangers.

Cleverley was loaned to League One club Leicester City at the start of 2009, for whom he made his first Football League appearances, helping the team secure the League One title and promotion to the Championship.

He spent the 2009–10 season on loan with Watford in the Championship, where he scored 11 goals in 33 league matches and was voted as their Player of the Season.

On 16 January 2009, Cleverley joined Leicester City on loan for the remainder of the 2008–09 season and was given the number 7 shirt.

He made his debut on 19 January 2009 in a 2–0 away win over Yeovil Town, coming on as an 85th-minute substitute for Matty Fryatt.

Cleverley scored his first Leicester City goal few weeks later on 3 February 2009, in a 4–1 win over Walsall.

Cleverley then scored his second goal for the club on 7 March 2009, in a 4–0 win over Cheltenham Town.

After two goals in 15 matches for Leicester, Cleverley's loan spell came to a premature end after he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury against Colchester United.

He then returned to Manchester United for treatment and underwent surgery on his shoulder on 2 April 2009.

Although his loan had ended, Cleverley was presented with a medal on 24 April after Leicester secured their promotion as champions of League One.

Towards the end of the season, along with James Chester and Corry Evans, Cleverley was nominated by Manchester United reserve team manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær for the Denzil Haroun Reserve Player of the Year award.

After being featured and scored in the pre–season friendly against Valencia, Cleverley was told by Alex Ferguson that he would be loaned out to gain further first-team experience.

On 18 August 2009, Cleverley signed for Watford on loan and was able to play in their match away to Nottingham Forest that evening.

He started the match and was booked within four minutes of the start of the second half, but then sealed a 4–2 win with a goal in the second minute of injury time at the end of the match.

He then scored another goal on his home debut four days later, scoring Watford's second goal in a 2–2 draw with Blackpool, and became Watford's joint-top scorer with the second goal in a 2–0 win over Preston North End in November.

Shortly afterwards, he extended his loan deal at Watford until the end of the 2009–10 season.

On 31 August 2010, he joined Wigan Athletic on a season-long loan, where he scored four goals in 25 appearances and helped them to avoid relegation on the final day of the season.

Cleverley scored a further five goals in 20 appearances for Watford before a knee ligament injury in April 2010 ended his season prematurely.

He went on to win the team's Player of the Season award.

On 1 July 2010, Cleverley signed a new contract with the club, keeping him until 2013.

He returned to Manchester United for the start of the 2011–12 season and made his first competitive appearance in the FA Community Shield victory against Manchester City.

Cleverley played for Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics, and later that year made his debut for the England national team.

Cleverley was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire, but grew up in Bradford, West Yorkshire.

He went to Hanson School.

He won the Premier League with Manchester United in 2013.