Man Utd youngsters loaned out during the 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 from the senior squad currently playing their football elsewhere.

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

Here’s a summary of all five youngsters United have loaned out over the last five weeks, plus a catchup on three others who left Old Trafford on season-long deals back in summer.

Players Man Utd loaned out in the January transfer window

Ethan Laird

Loan Club: MK Dons

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 in order to develop with more consistent senior game time.

He has already started four back-to-back games in League One, primarily as a right-sided wing-back, and even got an assist in only his second appearance in a win over Fleetwood.

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

James Garner

Loan Club: Nottingham Forest

Level: Championship – relegation battle

Previously likened to Michael Carrick, James Garner started the season on loan at Watford and was enjoying a good campaign. He was starting relatively regularly in the Championship and the Hornets were in strong 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 cancelled on 30 January and later that same day United sent him to Nottingham Forest.

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

Tahith Chong

Loan Club: Club Brugge

Level: Jupiler Pro League – runaway leaders

After his initial season-long loan at Werder Bremen was cut short, Tahith Chong has joined Club Brugge and is likely to end the season with a title winner’s medal in Belgium.

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

United staff will be hoping that Chong is able to thrive in a winning team in Belgium, with Europa League football to also look forward to, largely because he is reaching the age where his time to make it in the long-term at Old Trafford is rapidly shrinking.

Facundo Pellistri

Loan Club: Deportivo Alaves

Level: La Liga – relegation battle

Facundo Pellistri joined United from Penarol on summer transfer deadline day in October following a positive review from ex-Penarol coach and Old Trafford cult hero Diego Forlan.

The teenage Uruguayan is yet to make his first-team debut, although he had been training with the first-team and impressed during 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 were not keen on sending him to the Championship because of the league’s physical nature and chose Spanish side Alaves instead, where there also won’t be a language barrier.

Teden Mengi

Loan Club: Derby County

Level: Championship – relegation battle

Teden Mengi was on the United first-team bench at 17 last season and had not long turned 18 when he made his debut in a Europa League knockout game. He is very highly rated at Old Trafford and was promoted to the first-team squad for training ahead of this season.

A loan move to Derby, where he can develop under United legend Wayne Rooney in his first managerial role seems like a good opportunity to get some vital experience.

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

Man Utd players already out on loan

Aliou Traore

Loan Club: Caen

Level: Ligue 2 – mid-table

United landed former PSG youth player Aliou Traore in 2017 when he was just 16. This season, the tall French midfielder has been on loan back in his homeland with Caen, the Normandy club where N’Golo Kante rose to prominence before joining Leicester.

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

Joel Castro Pereira

Loan Club: Huddersfield

Level: Championship – mid-table

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

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

Di’Shon Bernard

Loan Club: Salford City

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 still well thought of and has been getting regular starts in League Two since joining Salford City in mid-October.

The 20-year-old has started 13 of the last 15 League Two games since settling and establishing himself in November. Salford have been in and around the playoff positions all season and if Bernard could reach at least 30 appearances in a successful side it would be a big step.

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

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