Kilmarnock have confirmed they have reached an agreement to sign Manchester United striker Joe Hugill on a permanent deal, after he was recalled from League Two Barnet earlier in January.
The Manchester United academy product struggled to break through into the first team, despite some promising showings at youth level. His 31 goals in 57 appearances at under-21 level and 18 goals in 24 appearances at under-18 level prompted some around the club to hail him as the potential next “Marcus Rashford” level graduate.
The 22-year-old has spent some time away from the club on loan in the lower leagues of English football. Hugill has spent time at Wigan Athletic, Carlisle United, Altrincham, Burton Albion and most recently Barnet.
Unfortunately his spell with the latter did not produce the results many were hoping for. The youngster was only able to appear on six occasions due to injury, without scoring prompting a swift recall once the winter transfer window opened.
Much Needed Goal Threat
Now, the youngster has departed Old Trafford permanently, linking up with Scottish side Kilmarnock, on a deal until 2027. The 6 ft 2 inch tall forward will join a side struggling for goals as they battle to avoid the very real chance of relegation.
Neil McCann took over the club earlier this month and has struggled to turn around the club’s form. Currently they have a return of just 20 goals from 23 games resulting in a -23 goal difference, the second lowest in the division.
Whilst Hugill has yet to demonstrate his goalscoring ability at senior level, he has shown signs that he could recapture his youth level form.
Turning Away From Youth
Manchester United, once known for their conveyor belt of talent have begun to turn their back on youth. The club’s current first team only has Kobbie Mainoo as a firm member of the squad, with other youth players just filling gaps when injuries occur.
Instead the club have focused more on big money signings such as Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha.
Mainoo, was also pushing for a loan move away earlier in the season as former boss Ruben Amorim continued to overlook the talented midfielder. This transition, and the sale of some of their once promising talent has been described as a “shock”. Their next stand-out talent JJ Gabriel is already attracting interest from other clubs and it would not be surprising to see him leave.