Manchester United have confirmed the departure of forward Joe Hugill and the arrival of Kilmarnock, but there are no plans to let Joshua Zirkzee leave the club in January.
Joshua Zirkzee falls down the pecking order at Old Trafford (Image: Getty Images)
Manchester United have let forward Joe Hugill go, but Michael Carrick has no intention of sanctioning Joshua Zirkzee’s departure and continuing his absence from the front line.
Hugill, 22, has been at the club since signing for Sunderland as a teenager but has yet to break into the first-team squad. He has been away from Old Trafford alongside Altrincham, Burton Albion, Wigan and Carlisle, but will now join Kilmarnock permanently.
Despite talk of the Dutchman returning to Italy, United have no intention of allowing Zirksee to come out the door. He first made a name for himself in Italy before joining the Premier League giants in 2024.
During that time, he struggled to score goals, and as a result, the club invested heavily in the forward line, falling down the standings, and there were rumors of a move to Juventus or elsewhere.
But Carrick insisted he was ready to have Zirksee as part of the team. “Josh is just trying to get fit and work in the group. It’s great to have him back training with the group for the first time. That’s it for me and for Josh. I’m looking forward to working with him. That’s it. There’s nothing else to say.”
read more: Manchester United star explains his decision to leave in January: ‘It’s been a while’read more: Michael Carrick leaves door open to transfer business from Manchester United – ‘A lot of things could happen’
Zirkzee has started just four games in the Premier League this season and has struggled to find playing time, scoring just two goals. He oversaw the departure of Rasmus Højlund in the summer and although the Dane has since returned to Italy and impressed at Napoli, it seems unlikely that Zirksee will join him.
Carrick was appointed head coach until the end of the season, but was told he would have to work with the team he inherited. United’s reinforcement plans have been put on hold until the summer, but the man in the dugout has not yet ruled out signings as the window closes on Monday night.
Joe Hugill leaves Manchester permanently (Image: PA)
“I think we’re just working on it. We’ll never say never. A lot of things can happen and things can get messy. Some things we can control, some things we can’t control and we have to deal with them. We’re calm, pretty calm. We have what we can do as a team and we’ve proven that. We’ll have to see what happens in the next few days. But we’re calm.”
United’s main target is a midfielder, but their target won’t be available until the summer and won’t come cheap. They’re looking at players like Elliott Anderson, Adam Wharton and Carlos Bareva.
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