Reuben Noble Lazarus Trains With Manchester United For Two Weeks

Barnsley player Reuben Noble-Lazarus is currently training with Manchester United for two weeks.

Noble-Lazarus is still only 15 years of age and has made two substitute appearance for the Barnsley this season.

He has been a regular in the Reserves and also scored a memorable hat-trick against Sheffield United in the Academy side.

Reuben has been with Barnsley Football Club setup from the age of twelve and this season he has played for the Under 16s, 18s, Reserves and First team.

Noble-Lazarus was born 16 August 1993. He can play as an outright striker or on the left, and is renowned for his speed. At 15 years and 45 days old, he became the youngest player ever to feature in a Football League match when he came on as a substitute during Barnsley's 3–0 Championship defeat by Ipswich Town on 30 September 2008.

The previous weekend, Noble-Lazarus had scored a hat-trick for the Barnsley under-18 team, for whom he had played since he was 12 years old, and was selected as a substitute for the senior team's visit to Portman Road. Coming on in the 84th minute of the match to replace Martin Devaney, Noble-Lazarus surpassed the record set by Bradford Park Avenue's Albert Geldard in September 1929, and equalled by Welshman Ken Roberts for Wrexham F.C. in 1951, by 113 days. He was too young to be paid for his appearance – Barnsley manager Simon Davey joked he would be given pizza and a ham sandwich for his efforts – and was due to return to Newsome High School in Huddersfield the following day.

Davey had wanted to play Noble-Lazarus in the League Cup earlier in the season but was prevented from doing so by the competition's rules, which prohibit the selection of players under the age of 15. The club has made an agreement with Noble-Lazarus' school to allow him to train with the club for two days each week. Davey has said that the club will "nurture" Noble-Lazarus by ensuring that he is "...dipped in and dipped back out..." of the team. Noble-Lazarus was included in Barnsley's squad to face Doncaster Rovers the weekend after his debut, making another substitute appearance when he came on for Iain Hume in the 87th minute.

Back To Home Page...