De Laet's Delight

Ritchie De Laet's remarkable rise from a surprise January signing from Stoke to being the only fit defender in the first team at Fulham in December has been acknowledged with a prestigious award.

Fans voting on ManUtd.com have made him the Denzil Haroun Reserve Player of the Year, ahead of the coaching staff's other nominees Magnus Eikrem and Oliver Gill.

Receiving his trophy from reserves manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, De Laet said: "I'm happy, of course. It's my second year at United and we've had a good season with the reserves.

"We've won two trophies, and the Senior Cup at the beginning as well, so it's been a good season all round."

On nominating De Laet, Solskjaer said: "Ritchie has been a revelation since signing from Stoke and he deservedly gained some first-team appearances this term. He is a very versatile defender who also has an eye for a goal, and he's a real leader in the team."

Previous winners
Denzil Haroun Reserve Player of the Year

1990 Mark Robins
1991 Jason Lydiate
1992 Brian Carey
1993 Colin McKee
1994 Nicky Butt
1995 Kevin Pilkington
1996 Michael Appleton
1997 Michael Clegg
1998 Michael Twiss
1999 Mark Wilson
2000 Jonathan Greening
2001 Michael Stewart
2002 John O'Shea
2003 Darren Fletcher
2004 David Jones
2005 Sylvan Ebanks-Blake
2006 Giuseppe Rossi
2007 Kieran Lee
2008 Richard Eckersley
2009 James Chester

Ritchie De Laet, Denzil Haroun Reserve Player of the Year