Manchester United have a huge wealth of talent at their disposal, meaning some of their talented youngsters are spending the 2023-24 campaign on loan deals across the continent. We’ve looked into how they’re faring.
After selling a substantial amount of players over the summer, only five United players have been loaned out by Ten Hag this year.
We’ve looked into all of those sent out on loan from United and assessed how they have done in the 2023-24 season so far.
Will Fish
Having spent last season at Hibernian, scoring three times in 21 appearances, Fish returned to Edinburgh for the 2023-24 campaign.
The centre-back has made one United appearance to date, against Wolves in May 2021, but participated in the club’s pre-season matches this summer and also played against Aston Villa in the Europa Conference League.
Rather than compete against Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane, the 20-year-old has made 12 appearances for Hibs and is at an ideal club to continue his footballing development.
Brandon Williams
Williams looked destined to leave Old Trafford this summer after falling behind Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia in the competition for the left-back slot in Ten Hag’s side.
And, despite interest from Leeds, the 23-year-old signed a season-long loan deal with newly promoted Championship side Ipswich Town.
“Kieran [McKenna] was my youth-team coach at United and, from there, we have had a great relationship,” Williams said at his unveiling. “He has always had the standards of a coach at the top level and has had a big influence on me.
“He has always kept in touch with me to make sure I’m okay and I trust everything he says because he is great to learn from. I’m excited to work with him again.”
The left-back has played six times for the Tractor Boys, who’ve made a fast start to their first Championship season since 2018-19, although he did score an own goal within two minutes of his first start in a League Cup match at Reading.
He’s out of contract at United next summer and he’s not expected to stay at the club – Ipswich have a buy-option in their deal for Williams.
Alvaro Fernandez
Despite the injury crisis at left-back, with both Shaw and Malacia out and Sergio Reguilon also suffering a knock at Burnley in September, Fernandez was allowed to leave United over the summer.
Many criticised Ten Hag for loaning out Fernandez, who shone at Preston last season, and drafting in Reguilon instead of backing a promising player from the club’s academy.
The left-back is spending 2023-24 at La Liga side Granada and made his debut during their 4-2 home defeat to surprise pace-setters Girona. Many United supporters will be keeping an eye on his progress this year.
Mason Greenwood
Greenwood joined Getafe on a season-long loan at the end of August and has made two appearances for the La Liga side without scoring.
Charlie McNeill
Having stood out with his performances for United’s youth sides, McNeill was sent on loan to League One outfit Stevenage to further prepare him for first-team football at Old Trafford.
The striker scored twice in 20 appearances at Newport County last year and made a goal-scoring debut for his new side this year, notching in a 3-0 win at Leyton Orient.
“I loved it, 60 minutes, 3-0 win, goal, it’s everything I could have asked for,” he said on Stevenage’s YouTube channel. “Loved every minute of it.
“The way we play was different, I enjoyed it. I had a lot of the ball, I seen a lot of the ball. I had a couple of chances and put one away so I was more than happy with what I had.”
