Manchester United star Joe Hugill has been loaned out to Carlisle for the remainder of the season.
Hugill impressed when he came through the academy and was sent to Wigan Athletic in the summer. He scored five goals in 18 games for the Latics, who are struggling to the bottom of League One.
He was sent back to Old Trafford last week, with Wigan bringing in Will Goodwin from Oxford United to challenge Dale Taylor for the sole striker role in Shaun Maloney's side. But it appears United have quickly found a new home for the 21-year-old.
Although he has impressed as he came through the ranks, Hugill is not yet ready for a first-team role. And it now looks like he will leave soon after returning to the Red Devils.
According to The Athletic, Hugill is undergoing medical treatment at Carlisle ahead of a move to Brunton Park. United wanted to find the striker a club that would play to his strengths and where he would get regular playing time.
Northampton, Shrewsbury, Colchester and Newport were also all in talks to sign the youngster. But it is Carlisle, currently bottom of League Two, who have won the race for the United star.
Hugill is expected to play a key role for Mike Williamson's side in their battle against relegation. He should be registered in time to play Saturday's play-offs against Bradford City.
Hugill will be a key signing for Williamson, whose side have scored just 19 goals in their 24 league games so far. Williamson has won just four of his 21 games in charge, with his side seven points adrift of safety.
Despite sending Hugill back to United, Maloney still has great respect for the young striker. He emphasized that the decision to cancel the loan was for financial reasons rather than performance-related.
“It's really a budget-related decision,” Maloney said. “I think he's done really well here, I've really enjoyed working with Joe and I think there's still more development in Joe. To be honest, Dale Taylor has been on really, really good form over the last ten games.
“I know Joe has to play games. He was always going to leave us if Dale kept his place, which he did…although I still would have liked to keep him. I know we signed Will Goodwin, but Joe is a very different profile than him.
“We can only carry two '9's' at the moment. So that's the decision… it has nothing to do with performance, or how we've been training… we can only carry two '9's' and that's the decision. We have we have Dale and Will, that's what we were able to do this season. We're happy with the two '9s' that we have.
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