Layla Drury
English footballer (born 2009) Playing for Manchester United and England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Layla Drury (born 12 June 2009) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Women's Super League club Manchester United. Born in Wales, she plays for the England under-20 national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 12 June 2009 | ||
| Place of birth | Wrexham, Wales | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Manchester United | ||
| Number | 57 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| FAW North Academy | |||
| 2024– | Manchester United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2025– | Manchester United | 5 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2023–2024 | Wales U15 | ||
| 2024–2025 | Wales U17 | 11 | (4) |
| 2026– | England U20 | 2 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 28 March 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 21 March 2026 | |||
In January 2026, she became the youngest player and goalscorer in Manchester United's history, surpassing records previously held by Lauren James.
Early life
Drury was born in Wrexham, Wales.
Club career
Drury joined the Manchester United academy in November 2024.[1] Following a rapid development curve with the under-16 and under-21 squads, she was promoted to the senior first team by head coach Marc Skinner in December 2025.[2]
Drury made her senior professional debut in a Women's FA Cup fourth round match against Burnley on 18 January 2026. Entering as a 66th-minute substitute, she scored the final goal in a 5–0 victory.[3] At 16 years and 220 days old, she became the youngest player to represent Manchester United Women and the club's youngest-ever goalscorer across all senior competitive formats.[3] She made her Women's Super League debut on 25 January 2026, in a 4–1 win against Aston Villa.[4]
International career
Drury is a dual-national, eligible to represent both Wales and England. She began her international career with Wales and represented them up to Under-17 level, scoring two goals in three appearances during UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship qualifying.[5] She joined up with the Wales Under-19 squad as a training player in October 2025.[6]
On 19 February 2026, Drury's request to switch allegiance to England was approved by FIFA[7] and was called up to the England Women's Under-20 squad for a series of international friendlies in Spain.[8] She made her debut on 28 February 2026 as a substitute in an international friendly against Spain in Alicante, and later made her first start in a win against the Netherlands.[9]
Style of play
The tallest within Manchester United Women, head coach Marc Skinner has highlighted Drury's "speed of thought", "speed of movement" and "the way she invades [space]".[10]