Man Utd youngsters on loan during January transfer window

Manchester United brought in teenage winger Amad Diallo during the January transfer window. Jesse Lingard also left on loan to go to West Ham, joining Andreas Pereira and Diogo Dalot among those in the senior team currently playing their football elsewhere.

But the window also provided the opportunity to send a number of young players out on loan to gain invaluable first-team experience until the end of the season.

Here is a summary of the five young United have loaned out over the past five weeks, plus a catch-up on three others who left Old Trafford on one-season deals in the summer.

Lending Club: MK donations

Level: League One – mid-table

Teenage full-back Ethan Laird played twice for the first team last season in the Europa League and joined MK Dons in early January to develop with more consistent senior playing time.

He has already started four consecutive games in Ligue 1, mostly as a right-back, and even had an assist in just his second appearance in a win over Fleetwood.

A good season for Laird would be to continue playing regularly. The club are currently mid-table in their league, but a good run of results could propel them into playoff contention. Equally, however, the campaign could easily turn into a relegation fight with some poor results.

Lending Club: Nottingham Forest

Level: Championship – relegation battle

Previously compared to Michael Carrick, James Garner started the season on loan at Watford and enjoyed a good campaign. He was starting relatively regularly in the Championship and the Hornets were in contention for promotion to the Premier League.

However, a change of manager just before Christmas saw Garner’s chances suddenly dry up. His loan was canceled on January 30 and later the same day United sent him to Nottingham Forest.

Forest will offer the 19-year-old a different kind of challenge and experience as they are in a very different situation, having fought to stay out of the relegation zone all season.

Lending Club: Club Brugge

Level: Jupiler Pro League – runaway leaders

After his first season-long loan at Werder Bremen was cut short, Tahith Chong joined Club Brugge and is set to finish the season with a title-winning medal in Belgium.

The Dutch winger, now 21, has played 15 times in all competitions for Bremen on the full pitch but only twice as a starter. His playing time also came to an abrupt end in early January and he has spent his last four Bundesliga games with the club as an unused substitute.

United staff are hopeful Chong can thrive in a winning team in Belgium, with Europa League football to look forward to too, largely because he is reaching the age where his time for long-term success at Old Trafford is. shrinks rapidly.

Lending Club: Deportivo Alaves

Level: La Liga – relegation battle

Facundo Pellistri joined United from Penarol on summer transfer deadline day in October after a positive review from former Penarol manager and Old Trafford cult hero Diego Forlan.

The Uruguayan teenager is yet to make his first-team debut, despite training with the first team and impressing in games at Under-23 level. There was a feeling that he had quickly outgrown reserve team duties and needed senior football to continue his development.

United weren’t keen on sending him to the Championship due to the physical nature of the league and instead chose Spanish side Alaves, where there will also be no language barrier.

Lending Club: Derby County

Level: Championship – relegation battle

Teden Mengi was on the bench for United’s first team aged 17 last season and hadn’t long been 18 when he made his debut in a Europa League knockout tie. He is highly rated at Old Trafford and has been promoted to the first team for training ahead of this season.

A loan spell at Derby, where he can play under United legend Wayne Rooney in his first managerial role, seems like a good chance to gain vital experience.

Derby had endured a poor season until Rooney took over, initially as goalkeeper. They have won six of their last 11 league games, including the last three on the rebound, and have started to move away from the relegation zone.

Lending Club: Caen

Level: Ligue 2 – mid-table

United landed former PSG youngster Aliou Traore in 2017 when he was just 16. This season, the great French midfielder was loaned to his native country with Caen, the Normandy club where N’Golo Kante rose to prominence before joining Leicester.

The 20-year-old has mostly been in the first team, although starts have been hard to come by. Two of his four starts came earlier this month, but he hasn’t been involved in the last two teams.

Lending Club: Huddersfield

Level: Championship – mid-table

Joel Castro Pereira has been with United since 2012 and will soon be 25. He was well thought out by Jose Mourinho, who affectionately called him ‘the kid’, but was never able to make the breakthrough and joining Huddersfield in August was his sixth loan move.

Pereira largely struggled to become a starter during one of his stints away from Old Trafford, peaking at 25 Hearts appearances in Scotland last season. He spent most of his time with Huddersfield on the bench and only played one game.

Lending club: City of Salford

Level: League Two – promotion contenders

Di’Shon Bernard made his United debut in the Europa League last season and performed admirably other than scoring a decisive own goal. He is always well thought out and has secured regular starts in League Two since joining Salford City in mid-October.

The 20-year-old has started 13 of the last 15 Ligue 2 games since being set up and set up in November. Salford have been in and around playoff positions all season and if Bernard can achieve at least 30 appearances in a successful team it would be a big step.

Matej Kovar and Dylan Levitt were on loan at Swindon and Charlton respectively until January, but neither were loaned out a second time when those short-term deals came to an end.

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