Six loan players return to Old Trafford

Manchester United have announced that Ben Amos, Federico Macheda, Jesse Lingard, Davide Petrucci, Tyler Blackett and Will Keane have all returned to the club after loan spells away from Old Trafford.

United reportedly wish to assess a number of players who have been out on loan before considering future options – and the club has confirmed that the six players have now returned, five of whom have been playing in the Football League and one in the Belgian Second Division.

However, since the start of 2014, Michael Keane, Ryan Tunnicliffe and Tom Lawrence have already extended loan spells away from Old Trafford, and with first-team opportunities unlikely to come any time soon for these six players, it seems very possible that further spells away from the club will follow. 

Amos, 23, has been with Carlisle since November and notched up nine appearances between the sticks for the Cumbrians, conceding 12 goals.

In Yorkshire, Macheda enjoyed a superb start to his spell with Doncaster, scoring three goals in his first three appearances.

However, he failed to find the net in the 12 appearances which followed, with his form dipping somewhat following a hamstring injury which saw him briefly return to the Theatre of Dreams.

Rovers boss Paul Dickov is keen to bring Macheda back to the Keepmoat Stadium – so a return to the Championship could well be on the cards.

At Birmingham City, Lingard has enjoyed a successful three-month spell, hitting the net six times from 13 Championship outings.

He grabbed the headlines in his opening game, hitting all four of Brum’s goal against Sheffield Wednesday, though he returns to Old Trafford facing suspension after picking up a red card in his final game at Wigan Athletic.

Blues boss Lee Clark has said he hopes to “convince David Moyes that to help his development and to help Manchester United, it would be better for Jesse to stay” with the Midlands club.

Petrucci, who has spoken out of his ambition to break into United’s first-team, has spent time with Jimmy Floyd-Hasselbaink’s Royal Antwerp.

Defender Blackett extended an initial stay at Blackpool in early December, and now returns to United having made five appearances for the Tangerines.

Keane made four appearances at Wigan, two from the bench, during a short spell with United’s Lancashire neighbours, where he played alongside fellow United loanee Nick Powell.