| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Oliver James Norwood[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 12 April 1991 | ||
| Place of birth | Burnley, England | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Manchester United | ||
| Number | 47 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2007– | Manchester United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2009– | Manchester United | 0 | (0) |
| 2010 | → Carlisle United (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | → Scunthorpe United (loan) | 13 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2007 | England U17 | 3 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Northern Ireland U19 | 3 | (3) |
| 2009– | Northern Ireland U21 | 7 | (4) |
| 2009 | Northern Ireland B | 1 | (0) |
| 2010– | Northern Ireland | 4 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:20, 25 October 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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Oliver James Norwood (born 12 April 1991) is an English-born Northern Irish footballer who plays as a midfielder for Manchester United. Although he represented England at under-17 level, he has represented Northern Ireland at every level from under-19 to the senior team.
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Born in Burnley, Lancashire, Norwood began his football career playing for his brother's team in his home town. He was spotted by Manchester United scouts when he was 6 years old and joined the club at the age of 7. After eight appearances for Manchester United's under-18s side in 2005–06 and 2006–07, he joined the club as a trainee in July 2007. He became a regular in the under-18s team in 2007–08, scoring twice in 22 appearances, and he made his debut for the reserve team in a 2–1 away win over Middlesbrough on 6 November 2007. The following season, he scored nine goals in 28 appearances for the under-18s, as well as appearing a further 10 times for the reserves. His form prompted the club to sign him on a professional contract in July 2009.
2009–10 was a big season for Norwood, as he made the full step up to the reserve team and also received his first call-up to the first-team for their Champions League group stage match away to Wolfsburg.[3] However, although he made the trip to Germany, Norwood was not named in the 18-man match-day squad.[4]
On 16 September 2010, Norwood signed for Carlisle United on a one-month emergency loan contract, following a knee injury to Carlisle captain Paul Thirlwell.[5]
On 24 August 2011, Norwood signed for Scunthorpe United on a six-month loan.[6]
Although he was born in England, Norwood's heritage is Northern Irish; it is this heritage that has allowed him to represent both England and Northern Ireland in international football. He was first called up to the England under-17 team in September 2007 ahead of their 2008 UEFA Under-17 Championship qualifying matches against Malta, Estonia and Portugal in Estonia from 21 October to 26 October 2007.[7] He appeared in all three fixtures, his debut coming in the 6–0 win over Malta on 21 October, in which he came on as a 61st-minute substitute for Harry Forrester.[8] However, the match against Portugal would prove to be his final appearance for an England team.
Norwood made his first appearance for a Northern Ireland team at "B" international level, in a 3–0 defeat away to Scotland B on 6 May 2009; he came on as a substitute for Niall McGinn in the 67th minute, and forced a fingertip save from Scotland goalkeeper David Marshall with a 30-yard free-kick three minutes later.[9] His under-21 debut followed three months later, when he came on as a substitute for Corry Evans in a 2–1 away defeat to Portugal on 12 August 2009.[10] Norwood received national media attention in November 2009 after he scored free-kicks against both Germany and the Czech Republic's under-21 teams.[11]
Norwood's reverse progression through the Northern Irish national teams was completed in May 2010, when he appeared for the under-19 side in the 2010 UEFA Under-19 Championship elite qualifying round. In his first match for the under-19s, against Russia, he scored two goals in the last 10 minutes to salvage a draw after Northern Ireland went 2–0 down shortly into the second half.[12] He then followed this up with a penalty to open the scoring against Italy two days later, only for Italy to win the match 3–2.[13]
Norwood made his debut for the Northern Ireland senior side on 11 August 2010, in a 2–0 friendly defeat away to Montenegro. He came on as a second-half substitute for Sammy Clingan, and in the final few minutes attempted to chip the Montenegrin goalkeeper Mladen Božović, only to send the ball over the bar.[14]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other[nb 1] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Manchester United | 2009–10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010–11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2011–12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Carlisle United (loan) | 2009–10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| Scunthorpe United (loan) | 2011–12 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 | |
Statistics accurate as of match played on 2 January 2012[15]
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