Thomas Joseph Thorpe (born 13 January 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Macclesfield. A product of the youth academy of Manchester United, Thorpe was loaned to Championship club Birmingham City in 2014. He was called into the Manchester United first team in September 2014 and made his Premier League debut shortly after. Released in 2015, he went on to play in the Football League for Rotherham United, Bradford City and Bolton Wanderers, and for ATK of the Indian Super League. He represented England at all youth levels from England U16 to England U21, and was a member of the 2010 UEFA European Under-17 Championship-winning team. Club career Manchester United Youth teams Born in Manchester, Thorpe joined Manchester United as a first-year academy scholar in July 2009 at the age of 16, after playing six times for the club's under-18 team during the 2008–09 season. His debut came against Liverpool on 13 December 2008 and he played the whole game as Manchester United won 3–1. He began the 2009–10 season as part of the under-17s team that won the Milk Cup for the second consecutive year, conceding just two goals in their five games in the tournament. He became a regular for the under-18s during the season, playing in 24 of the team's 28 league matches on the way to winning Group C of the Premier Academy League; however, they lost to Arsenal on penalties in the play-off semi-finals. He scored his only goal of the season – his first for the under-18s – in a 4–1 away win over Middlesbrough on 17 April 2010, just four days after getting his first taste of reserve team action; he was named as an unused substitute for a Premier Reserve League game against Liverpool on 13 April. After signing his first professional contract over the summer, Thorpe was again included in the Manchester United squad for the Milk Cup in 2010, but defeat to the ASPIRE Academy from Qatar in their second game meant they were unable to defend their title; however, they were able to win the second-tier Slemish Trophy competition with victories over County Down, Shamrock Rovers and Hartlepool United. The under-18s began the Premier Academy League season with an eight-game unbeaten run, during which Thorpe scored once against Huddersfield Town, and on 27 September 2010, he made his first appearance for the reserves, coming