Manchester United sent enough players on loan last season to fill a matchday squad.
The Premier League side had 19 players featuring for other clubs up and down the football pyramid, as well as overseas, throughout 2022-23.
So, with some out of contract and others wondering what is next, The Athletic has gone through United’s loan army to break down how their year went and what could be on the horizon for them…
Dean Henderson (Nottingham Forest)
The goalkeeper said sitting on the Manchester United bench for most of 2021-22 was “the toughest 12 months” of his career; something he also considered “criminal” after saying he was told he would be the “No 1 goalkeeper” ahead of David de Gea.
The 26-year-old played 20 times for Nottingham Forest last season before tearing a muscle in his right thigh in January. It was initially hoped it would be a six-week layoff but Henderson was subsequently ruled out for the rest of the season owing to the need for surgery. He should return to fitness as pre-season starts.
In his 20 appearances, he kept six clean sheets — including one during Forest’s win over Liverpool in October — in all competitions. He also saved two penalties.
Forest are still keen to sign Henderson permanently and are anticipated to bid when there is further clarity on De Gea. The Spanish goalkeeper is expected to sign a new deal but realises he must accept a reduction on his £375,000 ($463,000) weekly wage.
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Henderson’s contract expires in 2025, although there is the option of an additional year, and he is one of the relatively few members of the United squad who could generate a notable fee in excess of £20million ($25m).
Amad Diallo (Sunderland)
As loan spells go, Amad’s season at Sunderland was exemplary.
Amad, 20, scored 14 goals in 42 appearances for the Championship side during their run to the play-offs, and often looked a level above his team-mates and opponents. It was a notable improvement on his loan switch to Rangers in the second half of the 2021-22 season, where he played 13 times and scored on three occasions.
one day we will meet again🤞🏾❤️🤍 pic.twitter.com/svR2pQQRYB
— Amad🇨🇮 (@Amaddiallo_19) May 17, 2023
Amad made a lasting impression at Sunderland and Tony Mowbray, the club’s manager, said he would love to have the forward for another season but expects him to either stay at United, be sold for big money or head out on loan to a Premier League or European side. He cost United an initial £19million in January 2021, after all, with a further £18.2m in add-ons, taking the overall cost north of £37m.
The most likely scenario, as it stands, is for Erik ten Hag to assess Amad during pre-season and perhaps send him on loan to another Premier League club. United are conscious it is a major step to go from performing in the Championship to playing regularly at Old Trafford and feel a season of development in the top flight may be most prudent.
Alex Telles (Sevilla)
Telles, 30, spent 2022-23 on loan at Spanish club Sevilla, playing 40 times in all competitions, including in their Europa League triumph over Roma on May 31.
The left-back’s contract at United expires next year, although there is the option for it to be extended to 2025.
Yet United signed Tyrell Malacia last summer and extended Luke Shaw’s deal in April, so it would make little sense to activate Telles’ clause unless they want to protect the asset and try to recoup more of the £15million they spent to sign him from Porto in 2020.
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This feels unlikely, however, and Telles’ time at United is coming to an end.
Ethan Laird (QPR)
Laird, 21, made 33 appearances in all competitions for Queens Park Rangers in the Championship last season.
His Old Trafford contract expires next summer, with United recently triggering his additional year, and the expectation is that he will be sold before the end of the transfer window. United wanted him to sign an extension before he went on loan last season but a deal could not be agreed.
Laird is determined to play regularly. He knows his best chance of that happening is away from United and Championship clubs are already showing an interest in his services.
Eric Bailly (Marseille)
Bailly’s season at Marseille was a bit of a disaster.
The 29-year-old only made 22 appearances and was handed a seven-game suspension in January for a tackle on Almike N’Diaye.
Bailly has a year remaining on his United deal and Marseille do not intend to make his switch to Ligue 1 permanent. That leaves the Premier League club needing to cash in this summer before he can leave for free in 2024.
Shola Shoretire (Bolton)
Shoretire, then 17, signed his first professional contract with United in 2021, having initially joined the club as a nine-year-old.
The talented forward made club history when he became the youngest player to represent United in European competition in February 2021, coming off the bench against Real Sociedad. He has also featured in the Champions League.
Shoretire is highly regarded at United and it was decided in January to send him on loan to League One side Bolton. The move was carefully thought out, with United keen to aid his development and help him gain valuable first-team experience. Premier League 2 games were not providing the right challenge.
He played 16 times for Bolton and scored his first goal against Bristol Rovers at the end of May.
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Ian Evatt, Bolton’s manager, described Shoretire as “a young player with an immense amount of talent” and believes the teenager is going to have “a really good future” in football.
He is set to go on United’s pre-season tour to the United States and then a decision will be made about another loan.
Alvaro Fernandez (Preston)
Fernandez established himself as a key player in Preston’s defence and was voted the club’s Young Player of the Season by supporters.
He made 42 appearances in all competitions and then outlined his intention to impress Ten Hag during pre-season.
“Erik ten Hag has to choose if they want me there or if they don’t want me,” Fernandez, 20, told Preston’s official website. “If they let me go on loan again, I don’t know yet. I don’t know what’s going to be my future.”
There is a good chance left-back Fernandez is brought into the United squad for the 2023-24 season, with Ten Hag wanting to add to his full-back options. He has Shaw and Malacia on the left but occasionally had to play Diogo Dalot there last season, which was not ideal.
If it is decided that Fernandez needs another year away from Old Trafford to aid his development, the most likely outcome would be a loan move to another Premier League side as his performances in the Championship showed he is capable of making a step up.
Axel Tuanzebe (Stoke)
Tuanzebe completed a deadline-day loan switch to Stoke City in January but struggled to force his way into the starting XI.
The 25-year-old defender made just four appearances and finds himself out of contract at United this summer.
His deal, which he signed in 2021, includes an option to extend for an additional 12 months, but that is yet to be exercised and the expectation is that he will leave as a free agent.
Hannibal Mejbri (Birmingham City)
Hannibal found himself in demand last summer and opted to join Birmingham on a season-long loan before going to the World Cup with Tunisia in November. He made one appearance in Qatar, coming off the bench in a 0-0 draw against Denmark.
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The midfielder, 20, made 41 appearances in all competitions for the Championship club, scoring once and notching six assists.
His switch to Birmingham did not include an option to buy and a new contract at United had been considered before he made the move, but he departed without agreeing to an extension.
Hannibal’s contract at the club expires next year but includes the option for United to extend it to 2025.
He was part of United’s 2022 pre-season tour and it is likely that Ten Hag takes him to the United States this summer to judge his development before deciding on his future. Hannibal is deemed to be too talented a player to be sitting on the bench, so another loan move would make sense.
Will Fish (Hibernian)
The central defender, 20, was sent to Scottish Premier League side Hibernian for the season.
Fish made 21 appearances, scoring three times, to help Hibernian finish fifth. He signed a new three-year Old Trafford last summer, which includes the option of an additional year, that, if triggered, would extend his stay to 2026.
Fish impressed the Scottish club and they have already shown an interest in bringing him back on loan for the 2023-24 season. A decision is yet to be made, and it is not beyond the realms of possibility that he is loaned to a Championship side.
Ethan Galbraith (Salford City)
Galbraith has spent the last two seasons out on loan, firstly at Doncaster Rovers and then most recently at League Two’s Salford City — part-owned by former United stars Gary and Philip Neville, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes.
The 22-year-old midfielder’s United deal expires at the end of this month, therefore making him a free agent.
Matej Kovar (Sparta Prague)
The 23-year-old goalkeeper played for Sparta Prague in the Czech Republic and kept 10 clean sheets in 28 appearances.
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Given United will need a new No 2 should Henderson depart, Kovar could be well-placed to fill that void.
His contract at Old Trafford does not expire until 2025, so it is getting to the stage, with two years left, where a decision on his future will need to be made sooner rather than later. Pre-season would be as good a time as any for Ten Hag to examine his quality.
Charlie Wellens (Oldham)
Wellens joined Oldham on a short loan deal last summer and returned to United early after struggling for game time.
The 20-year-old right-back’s contract expires at the end of this month and he is set to leave United on a free.
Charlie McNeill (Newport County)
McNeill became the first academy graduate to be handed his first-team debut by Ten Hag in September when the striker came off the bench in a Europa League fixture against Real Sociedad.
He featured regularly for the under-21s before joining Newport County on a six-month loan deal in January.
McNeill, 19, played 20 times for Newport and scored twice. He has enormous potential, with United spending an initial £750,000 that could rise to £1.5million to sign him back from Manchester City in 2020.
If it becomes clear that he is not part of Ten Hag’s thinking for the 2023-24 season, then you would expect the striker who scored over 600 goals at youth level to embark on another loan spell elsewhere.
Joe Hugill, Maxi Oyedele, Sonny Aljofree, Dermot Mee (Altrincham)
At the beginning of February, United announced an “innovative” loan scheme designed by the club’s academy coaches to send Hugill, Oyedele and Aljofree to National League side Altrincham, a town in Greater Manchester.
Each of the players continued to train with United’s under-21s and under-18s but could play for Altrincham at the weekend if the coaches thought it would better suit their schedule and development.
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Hugill, 19, made seven appearances in attack for Altrincham and Oyedele, an 18-year-old defensive midfielder, played 12 times. Aljofree, 18, did not feature at all but regularly turned out for United’s under-18s.
Mee, a goalkeeper, had a similar deal with Altrincham, although he joined on loan until January and made four appearances before returning to Old Trafford and sitting on the bench for the under-21s.
Tom Wooster (Ramsbottom United)
Wooster joined Ramsbottom on loan in February and made 13 appearances in goal for the non-League side.
The 18-year-old had played for United’s under-18s in the 2022-23 season, while also featuring in squads for the under-21s.
(Top photos: Getty Images)