"Manchester Evening News" reported that former Manchester United youth training player James Chester is gaining coaching experience in the club's youth training camp. Chester represented Manchester United in the 2007 FA Youth Cup final...
"Manchester Evening News" reported that former Manchester United youth training player James Chester is gaining coaching experience in the club's youth training camp.
Chester represented Manchester United in the 2007 FA Youth Cup final and was named the Manchester United Youth Training Player of the Year by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. He made his first-team debut under Sir Alex Ferguson in 2009.
The Warrington-born player was sold to Hull City in 2011 for a transfer fee that Ferguson described as "absolutely value for money". He subsequently played for West Brom, Aston Villa, Stoke City, Derby County and Barrow before ending his playing career when his contract with Salford City ended earlier this year.
After retiring, Chester visited the training camp of Manchester United's youth academy at the invitation of his good friend Paul McShane. Although McShane left the club this summer after five years in United's youth academy, Chester was invited to take the first step in his coaching career, taking charge of training for the U15 and U16 age groups.
Chester returned to the Carrington base on a voluntary basis. The former defender trained three times a week with the U15 and U16 teams, imparting the experience accumulated in his career.
The 36-year-old Chester announced his retirement in January and is reported to be in the early stages of weighing future plans, but he is enjoying the coaching opportunities he received while obtaining his UEFA B-level coaching certificate.
Over the past few years, Manchester United has benefited greatly from welcoming academy graduates back to the club as academy coaches. Such arrangements give young players the opportunity to learn from seniors with Premier League experience, which is mutually beneficial for all parties involved.
Chester was part of the talented Manchester United team that reached the 2007 FA Youth Cup final, playing alongside players such as Welbeck, Drinkwater, Sam Hewson and Fabian Brandi.
Ferguson gave Chester his first-team debut in the second leg of the League Cup semi-final against Derby County in January 2009. He came on as a substitute for Gary Neville with 20 minutes remaining.
Chester was part of the Hull City side that faced Arsenal in the 2014 FA Cup final and opened the scoring within four minutes. He made over 500 career appearances and made 35 appearances for Wales.
The Manchester United youth academy graduate played all the games as Wales reached the semi-finals of the 2016 European Cup.
