Saturday was a good day for Manchester United as not only did the first-team win, but the loan players had quite an outing for themselves as well.
At the head of that queue was Joe Hugill, the on-loan player at Wigan Athletic who has had a torrid time of things so far.
After taking six games to break his goalscoring duck, then that goal coming in his team’s worst loss of the season, he’s finally kicked into gear.
Hugill signed a contract extension before going on loan so this is a spell that Manchester United will be paying close attention to.
They will hope that the moment has finally arrived for him from which he can take his game to the next level and come back a vastly improved player.
Joe Hugill vs Bristol Rovers
Right off the bat, it is worth stating that Hugill was not solely to blame for his loan spell going from bad to worse so far.
Wigan had been victorious in just one of their first three league games, barely creating anything as Hugill ghosted in games.
This fixture vs Bristol Rovers was the first time they looked in control and dominant so Hugill helped himself to a brace.
He scored two first-half goals to set Wigan on their way to a 4-0 victory as he took full advantage of the chances created for him.
He had four shots, all on target, and created one chance in addition to scoring twice. That was a big step forward for a player who has often been limited to just poaching in the box.
Hugill missed two big chances as well, perhaps a sign of Wigan’s dominance more than the player’s wastefulness, but he will probably look back at this game as a chance missed for a hattrick.
Hugill’s Man Utd future
It looked like a classic case of a flailing loan for an academy player for Hugill when he started at the club like he was averse to the ball.
However, Hugill’s strengths have always been clear- if a team creates chances for him, he will put the ball in the back of the net more often than not.
The moment Wigan started doing that, he scored a brace. He will need to improve his all-around game but what he’s good at is exactly what United aren’t.
A clinical striker has been sorely missing from the senior team setup, especially in Rasmus Hojlund‘s absence.
If Hugill can give a return of 20 goals across all competitions for WIgan this season (he’s at three with the brace now), then he can make a valid case for getting a look in the senior team next season.
His contract extension clearly points that United have not given up on his Old Trafford future and coming back strong after a rough start points to a strong character and personality.
The hope will be that Hugill continues flourishing after breaking his goalscoring, and league scoring duck for Wigan and come back to United a much more accomplished prospect.
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