Sunderland should not give up on Man Utd transfer despite new update: Opinion | OneFootball

Highlights

While he may never have made a competitive senior appearance for the club, Joe Hugill's name is one that many Sunderland fans still ought to be familiar with.

Having joined the Black Cats' ranks from their local rivals Newcastle United, the attacker produced some excellent form for the club at youth level.

That would eventually see the then 16-year-old complete a high profile move to Manchester United in the summer of 2020, for a fee reported to be worth around £250,000.

However, it seems some of those back at Sunderland have perhaps not surprisingly, not forgotten about Hugill just yet.

Earlier this summer, it was reported that the Championship club were keen to seal a reunion with the attacker, by bringing him back to the Stadium of Light on loan.

Now though, it seems the latest reports on Hugill's future at Old Trafford, suggest that both the player and his current club, are prioritising a different sort of agreement right now.

As things stand, the striker's current contract at Old Trafford is due to expire next summer, meaning he could walk away from the club at the end of this season.

However, while Hugill is yet to make his competitive first-team debut for the Premier League club, he is enjoying a prolific start to the campaign at Under 21s level, and is also thought to have caught the eye of manager Erik Ten Hag in training.

As a result, it seems United are now keen to secure the long-term future of the striker, with The Manchester Evening News reporting that he is set to sign a new three-year contract with the Red Devils, with the option of a further 12 months.

Once confirmed, that deal will effectively secure Hugill's future at Old Trafford until the end of the 2026/27 campaign.

In doing so, United would be dealing a blow to Sunderland or any other club, who may have been thinking about a permanent move for the striker.

However, there is certainly an argument to suggest that does not mean the Black Cats should give up on the hope of a potential reunion with Hugill just yet.

Should Sunderland still make a move for Hugill?

While this update may be somewhat disappointing from a Sunderland perspective, it should be no surprise to them or anyone else, that United want to keep a player whose potential they have yet to exploit at first-team level.

That though, could still lead to an opportunity for Sunderland to exploit with regards to Hugill's future, in the short-term at least.

To date, the 19-year-old's only first-team experience has come with a loan move to National League side Altrincham earlier this year, where he scored once in seven league games.

It would therefore, be a big step up from that to go straight into Ten Hag's first-team at United, meaning a loan spell elsewhere, could help him to bridge the gap between the two.

Given he knows Sunderland well, and the fact that Black Cats head coach Tony Mowbray has a proven track record for developing young players on loan from the Premier League, that could make the Stadium of Light the ideal destination for Hugill on a temporary basis.

Not only that, but this new contract would allow United to sanction that move, without worrying about the Black Cats or any club taking steps to secure a longer term move while he is away.

Indeed, given it was previously suggested the Black Cats were interested in a loan move specifically for the striker, that could fit in better with their plans as well.

With that in mind, while Hugill's long-term future certainly looks as though it lies at Manchester United following this latest update, you feel that does not mean that some sort of brief reunion with Sunderland can be fully ruled out just yet.