| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jacob Patrick John Devaney | ||
| Date of birth | 11 June 2007 | ||
| Place of birth | Barnsley, England | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
Hibernian (on loan from Manchester United) | ||
| Number | 24 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2013–2025 | Manchester United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2025– | Manchester United | 0 | (0) |
| 2026 | → St Mirren (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2026– | → Hibernian (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2024–2025 | Republic of Ireland U19 | 5 | (0) |
| 2025– | Republic of Ireland U21 | 12 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:38, 18 October 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 20:20, 6 October 2026 (UTC) | |||
Jacob Patrick John Devaney (/dɛˈveɪniː/, deh-VAY-nee; born 11 June 2007) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Hibernian, on loan from Premier League club Manchester United, and the Republic of Ireland under-21 team.
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.
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. In May 2025, he was named Manchester United Youth Scholar of the Year. He trained with the first-team squad again under Ruben Amorim in the summer of 2025 pre-season. In the 2025-26 season, he captained the Manchester United U21 side at the age of 18 years-old. In November 2025, he scored a solo goal against Notts County in the EFL Trophy, after running 70 yards.
On 2 February 2026, Devaney joined Scottish Premiership side St Mirren on loan until the end of the season. He made 18 appearances for St Mirren during the 2025–26 season, scoring one goal.
After featuring for Manchester United's first-team during pre-season, on 23 August 2026 he signed for Hibernian on a season-long loan deal with the option of making the transfer permanent.
After declaring for Ireland in 2024, was called up to the Republic of Ireland U19 squad in September 2024. He made his Republic of Ireland U21 debut in June 2025 against Croatia U21.
Devaney has been described as a physical and press resistant defensive midfielder. He has also shown the ability to play in central defence at youth level.
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.
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Manchester United U21 | 2024–25 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2025–26 | — | — | — | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | |||||
| Total | — | — | — | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | |||||
| St Mirren (loan) | 2025–26 | Scottish Premiership | 13 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 16 | 1 | ||
| Hibernian (loan) | 2026–27 | Scottish Premiership | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Career total | 18 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 27 | 2 | ||