Joe Hugill's loan spell at Wigan Athletic has been terminated, with the forward heading back to parent club Manchester United.
The 21-year-old made the move to Wigan on loan last summer and had been due to spend the entirety of the 2024-25 campaign with the League One outfit, but his time at the club has been cut short.
Hugill made 18 appearances for Wigan, scoring five times and registering one assist, and the League One club's head coach Shaun Maloney said that it was a "budget-related decision" to send him back to Old Trafford.
"It's a budget-related decision really," Maloney told Wigan Today. "I think he's done really well here, I've really enjoyed working with Joe, and I think there's even more development in Joe.
"In fairness to him, over the last 10 games or so, Dale [Taylor] has been in really, really good form, and I know Joe needs to play games. He was always going to leave us if Dale kept his place, which he did... although I still would have liked to have kept him.
"I know we've signed Will Goodwin, but Joe is a very different profile to him, but we can only carry two '9s' at the moment. So that's the decision...it's nothing to do with performance, or how we trained...we can only carry two '9s' and that's the decision."
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Will Hugill be an option for Man United boss Amorim?
According to the Manchester Evening News, Man United are planning to send Hugill out on loan again, with the striker potentially dropping down to League Two in order to secure regular action.
The forward spent time with Newcastle United and Sunderland during his youth career before moving to Man United, but he is yet to make a first-team appearance for the club, spending time out on loan with Altrincham, Burton Albion and Wigan.
Hugill has a record of 31 goals in 57 appearances for Man United Under-21s, while he managed 18 goals in 24 matches for Man United Under-18s, but he is not believed to be in Amorim's plans moving forward.
The Englishman does have a contract at Old Trafford until June 2026, though, and a successful loan in the second half of the season could lead to him securing a permanent exit during this summer's transfer window.
Man United are currently struggling in the final third of the field, with Paris Saint-Germain's Randal Kolo Muani believed to be a loan target for the Red Devils during the January market.
However, Joshua Zirkzee is expected to remain at Old Trafford despite the recent speculation.
Matt Law
