Former Manchester United striker Will Keane has opened up on his Old Trafford tenure and training with the PFA as he looks for a new club
Former Manchester United youngster Will Keane could have had a vastly different career had injuries not plagued his Old Trafford tenure.
Keane climbed the youth ranks at Old Trafford, impressing at Carrington before making his first-team debut in December 2011. The Stockport-born striker was brought on as a second-half substitute during a 3-2 defeat to Blackburn Rovers.
Despite impressing, Keane would return to United’s Under 21s for the rest of that season, suffering from a serious knee injury while representing England’s Under 19s in May 2012.
Aged 19, suffered a rupture to his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL), sidelining him for the entirety of the 2012/13 season. He made his comeback for United U21s in September 2013, before being loaned out to Championship outfit Wigan Athletic for a month.
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Again, his loan spell at the DW Stadium was curtailed by a groin injury, returning to United before being sent out on loan once more, spending the latter half of the 2013/14 season at QPR.
Further loan spells at Sheffield Wednesday and Preston followed, before then United boss Louis van Gaal offered Keane another shot at proving himself in the first team.
However, he was limited to just two more appearances off the bench for the Reds, one in the Premier League against Sunderland and another in the FA Cup at Shrewsbury.
United opted to offload Keane to Hull City, freshly promoted to the Premier League, in August 2016 for £1million, with the player signing a three-year contract.
Looking back on his stint at United, Keane exclusively told Mirror Football: “I look back now and it was the best place to come through the ranks and have that development. I was lucky to have a strong squad as a whole.
“At the time, the feeling was that a lot of us would go and break in and get around the first team, which a few did and stayed there for a long time. I loved it.
“I think the whole education, enjoying going in every day. It was a great place to learn our trade and to make that transition from academy to reserves. And then I think the coaches we had at the time were all brilliant.
“I see now even a lot of lads are going on to have great careers. I think you’ve seen it at United, haven’t you, over the years? It’s been like a conveyor belt. The aim is to always play, but if you don’t, lads are still on to have great careers. It was the perfect place to be.”
Despite Keane not securing as much playing time as he would have hoped at United, he still absorbed plenty of knowledge and picked up invaluable experience alongside some of the finest coaches and players in world football.
Yet Keane remains convinced that he would have been handed more chances had he not suffered the ACL injury that ultimately sidelined him for nearly 16 months.
When quizzed on why things didn’t pan out at United, Keane added: “It’s all ifs, buts and maybes, so there’s no saying that I would have stayed there and played a lot more. But I think in football, a lot of it is timing, isn’t it? I was quite unfortunate that I did have a bad knee injury at the time, which I’d just made my debut, and then it was the last game of the season.
“I did my ACL and then I ended up being out for 15 or 16 months, so it was a long time when it was probably a key part of the transition and getting around the squad.
“So obviously that hindered my progression then, and even then when I got back, it took time to get myself going, so that didn’t help. And then I did it again, even when I left United and I went to Hull in the Premier League, played a few games and ended up redoing it. So then that was another year out.
“At the time it was shocking timing and it kind of killed me, but that is the way it goes. I’ve still managed to carve out a career. Obviously you never know, if I’d not had them, would I have stayed higher up? Potentially, but who knows?”
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Shortly after departing United to join Hull, Keane suffered his ACL for a sedong time. The devastating blow came during just his sixth outing for the Tigers in a 2-1 triumph over Southampton in November 2016.
Keane was sidelined for 14 months before making his comeback in January 2018 after Hull’s drop to the Championship. He subsequently netted his maiden goal for the Tigers during a 5-0 thrashing of Burton in April 2018.
Detailing the challenges he faced while recovering from two ACL injuries, Keane admitted that it was a physically and mentally taxing period. “Yeah, at the time it was a real challenge,” he continued.
“I think the first one I didn’t really know because I’d never had a bad injury like that before, I kind of just got on with it. It was obviously really tough to take, but I didn’t know how long the actual rehab process was going to take.
“As it carried on, I thought this is never ending. And it was tough because I remember at the time I was thinking, even when I got back outside, I was really struggling to get going and thought, how am I going to be able to play again here to a certain level?
“It just takes time and a bit of reprogramming your body and your brain almost to do all the things you used to do, but you get there eventually.
“The second one was tough because it was almost like a second chance at playing at that top level in the Prem (Premier League). So that one was really hard, especially because I knew how long it was out because I’d been through it once before.
“That season we got relegated at Hull, so then I’ve come back and we’re not obviously in the same situation. That was hard to take because I felt like I’d had some setbacks at United, but then going to Hull was a fresh chance, a clean slate, and then to have that, it’d be such a major injury again, ruining the chance of getting more games in the Prem was really hard.
“Like I said, I’ve always tried to be optimistic and look to the positives, which is not easy at times. Still managed to grind it out and play at a good level and been at some great clubs.”
Keane has subsequently enjoyed a successful stint in the EFL. Following his departure from Hull in 2019, he switched to Ipswich Town before moving to Wigan Athletic, where he experienced his most fruitful campaign in 2021/22.
Indeed, Keane struck 27 times in 50 outings as the Latics secured the League One crown. The subsequent season saw him reach double figures for Wigan in the Championship, which secured him a transfer to Preston North End.
He finished as Preston’s leading marksman in the 2023/24 campaign with 13 strikes and had his deal extended until June 2026. However, Keane was unable to recapture that same form during his second term at the club.
Following his struggle to earn opportunities under Paul Heckingbottom at the beginning of the 2025/26 season, Keane departed on loan to League One outfit Reading for the latter half of the campaign.
He managed just two goals in 14 appearances for The Royals before becoming a free agent this summer, after his Preston contract expired.
Now aged 33, Keane remains clubless and has spent the past five weeks at PFA pre-season, a summer initiative that enables out-of-contract players to train and maintain fitness while seeking their next opportunity.
“I feel really good,” Keane said, when asked about his future during his time on the PFA pre-season camp.
“It was disappointing not to have played more games at the end of last season, but I feel like this is a clean slate and I’m still raring to go. I feel like I’ve still got a lot to offer.
“I wanted to rediscover the form that I had a couple of years ago. I was playing consistently and scoring plenty of goals. I feel like I’ve still got that in me. I’m really itching to do that again.
“I had a few injuries early on in my career, but a few people in the game said to me, the coach and what not, that hopefully towards the end of my career I’ll get them back.
“I’m not exactly a player who’s always relied on pure pace, which I know sometimes as you get older you might lose that yard.
“But as long as you still keep sharp in the mind and keep getting in the right areas, hopefully I can still contribute and score goals. So that’s the aim and hopefully I’ll still have a successful couple of years.”