Thomas David Heaton (born 15 April 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Manchester United. Heaton began his career in the Manchester United academy but was unable to break into the first team and spent time on loan with Swindon Town, Royal Antwerp, Cardiff City, Queens Park Rangers, Rochdale and Wycombe Wanderers, before joining Cardiff permanently after his release by Manchester United in July 2010. He then joined Bristol City on a one-year deal with an option of a second year but turned it down in May 2013 in favour of a move to Burnley, where he remained for six years before joining Aston Villa in 2019. After two years with Aston Villa, he returned to Manchester United in July 2021. Formerly an international from under-16 to under-21 level, Heaton has been involved in senior England squads since 2015, finally making his senior debut in a friendly match against Australia on 27 May 2016. Club career Manchester United Born in Chester, Cheshire, Heaton began his football career with Wrexham, for whom he played both in goal and in midfield, but, after making 20 appearances for the Manchester United Under-17 team in the previous two seasons, he signed for United as a trainee on 8 July 2002. He became a regular in the Under-17 team during the 2002–03 season, and picked up an FA Youth Cup winner's medal despite playing second fiddle to Luke Steele throughout the entire competition. He made his first appearance in the reserve team the following season, starting in a 3–1 home win over Birmingham City in the Premier Reserve League on 2 October 2003. At the end of the 2003–04 season, Heaton was named on the bench for the final of the Manchester Senior Cup against Manchester City, and won a winner's medal despite not taking the field. By the 2004–05 season, Heaton had become the first-choice goalkeeper for the Manchester United reserve team, and was named on the bench for Stan Ternent's testimonial on 17 August 2004, coming on as a 76th-minute substitute for Luke Steele after Steele had earlier come on for Tim Howard. With Heaton in goal for 17 of the 28 Premier Reserve League North matches and 12 of the 22 Central League matches, the team went on to win both league titles by nine and five points respectively. Heaton's form for the reserves resulted in