Premier League giants Manchester United have announced a temporary departure from their forward line with young striker Joe Hugill moving on loan to League Two side Barnet.
The 21-year-old is yet to make an appearance for the Red Devils’ first team, instead being sent out on four previous loan spells in the National League and the EFL.
Manager Ruben Amorim has already sealed the signing of Matheus Cunha and is close to securing a deal for Bryan Mbuemo, which sees Hugill’s prospects of playing time decrease and his departure to the fourth tier being confirmed.
United forward makes League Two move
Hugill’s move to last season’s National League champions Barnet follows two loan spells to EFL sides Wigan Athletic and Carlisle United in the 2024/25 campaign, in which he scored a combined five goals in 29 league appearances.
Since his first chance of first-team football at Altrincham in 2023, he has struggled to convert chances in front of goal, but a move to northwest London could turn that around.
The Bees stormed to the fifth-tier title last season with 102 points, finishing six ahead of second-placed York City, under head coach Dean Brennan, who has never managed in the top four divisions of English football before.
Hugill will join a forward line including Callum Stead, Lee Ndlovu and Oli Hawkins, who also arrived this summer from Gillingham.
His departure from Old Trafford comes on the same day that Barcelona have reportedly opened talks with the club for fellow academy graduate Marcus Rashford, who is seemingly set to depart his boyhood club after over 400 appearances and 100 goals in 10 seasons.
Can Hugill finally deliver after failed loan spells?
The striker’s move to Barnet may well be his last chance of showing off his talent in order to earn an opportunity in United’s first team before he leaves the club permanently.
His contract is set to expire at the end of this season, although the club have an option to extend it, so he will want to find the back of the net regularly.
He struggled for regular game time last season, starting just 17 matches and playing fewer than 20% of either Wigan or Carlisle’s total minutes.
Whilst in League Two with the latter, he had a total of 28 shots, according to FBref, but managed to convert just two of them, recording a 0.07 goals per shot rate.
He actually had a higher shots on target ratio (53.6%) than the division’s top scorer from last season, Bromley’s Michael Cheek, who ended with 51.6%.
Hugill also took more shots and shots on target per 90 minutes than Cheek, so it appears that finding chances is not his issue, but instead converting them.
Slow transfer window for United
So far this summer, the Red Devils have made just three signings: Cunha, Diego Leon and Enzo Kana-Biyik.
Meanwhile, the trio of Victor Lindelof, Christian Eriksen, and Jonny Evans have left for free.
However, they are currently busy in the market, with a deal for Brentford winger Mbuemo set to be completed, and rumours of moves for Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez and former Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin also circulating.
With less than a month until the new Premier League season kicks off, Amorim will want to make more crucial additions to his squad to increase their chances of returning to European football after last year’s 15th-place finish.