David Beckham Manchester United
James Garner is the latest Manchester United prospect who is hoping to become a breakout star at Old Trafford after going out on loan. The midfielder has had an impressive season at Nottingham Forest, and while Forest and others are keen to take him next season, Garner has admitted that his ultimate aim is to make the step up into the United first team. Not every Manchester United youngster can be like Ryan Giggs or Marcus Rashford, breaking into the first team without first cutting their teeth out on loan.
David Beckham – Preston North End
One of the stars of the squad which proved to Alan Hansen that you could win things with kids, Beckham got his Premier League breakthrough after impressing during a short stint at Preston. The then-19-year-old netted on his debut for the Lilywhites, scoring direct from a corner kick against Doncaster, and added one more in his five league appearances for the club.
Kieran Richardson – West Bromwich Albion
A stint at West Brom was the best of both worlds for Richardson: experience of the less glamorous elements of the Premier League in the form of a tight relegation battle, and a chance to learn under United legend Bryan Robson. Robson had taken over from Gary Megson in November 2004 with the Baggies struggling, and they were bottom at Christmas before the January arrival of Richardson and Kevin Campbell helped change their fortunes. The winger scored three times in 12 games, including a goal in the vital final-day victory over Portsmouth which kept West Brom in the top flight, and he returned to Old Trafford to play 60 times in the next two seasons, winning the title in 2006/07.
Gerard Pique – Real Zaragoza
Pique had played a couple of games for United’s first team before moving on loan to Zaragoza in 2006/07, but that season gave him a shot at a full season of top-flight football. Citing “a constant interest” as the reason he opted for Zaragoza over Premier League sides Charlton Athletic and Aston Villa, the centre-back played 22 times at Victor Fernandez’s team finished in the top six. He then played 13 times in all competitions for United the following season as they won the Premier League and Champions League, including a start against Roma in a European quarter-final. Of course, his time at Old Trafford ended when former club Barcelona came calling, but it’s fair to say he can be happy with how that move panned out.
Jonny Evans – Sunderland
Evans spent not one but two seasons at Sunderland, helping them win promotion from the Championship under Roy Keane and sticking around for another year as they secured their spot in the top flight with a 15th-place finish in 2007/08. The Northern Irish defender won the Black Cats’ Young Player of the Year award in both seasons, and at the time seemed open to a permanent switch.
Jonny Evans said “When Roy Keane says he wants you, it’s a massive compliment. If he wanted to make this move permanent, it’s something I would want to talk about.”
Ultimately, he was given first-team opportunities at United, winning the Premier League with the club in 2009, 2011 and 2013, and has since had great success at Leicester City.
Tom Cleverley – Watford/Wigan
Cleverley worked his way up, playing for Leicester in League One, Watford in the Championship and Wigan in the Premier League before establishing himself at United. The Watford campaign was a huge success on a personal level, with 11 league goals, enough to earn him the Player of the Year award with the Hornets, while his four goals for Wigan included a strike in the vital win over Birmingham in March 2011 which helped kick-start a survival bid under Roberto Martinez. The midfielder played more than 50 times after returning to Old Trafford, including 22 games as the won the league title in 2012/13, and is now back at Watford after bouncing around the Premier League.
Danny Welbeck – Sunderland
Welbeck had already scored on his United debut before making the switch to Sunderland, but was sent on loan to the Stadium of Light for the 2010/11 season after an earlier, moderately successful stint on loan at Preston. The highlight of his time under Steve Bruce came in November, when he scored his first goal for the club in a surprise 3-0 win at reigning champions Chelsea, and he finished the season with six in total in the league. Sunderland were said to be interested in making the loan move permanent for £10m, but Bruce admitted: “In terms of converting any loan player to a permanent signing, you have to accept it’s a fact of life that, in most cases, the better they do the less chance you have of getting them.” True to form, Welbeck returned to United and became an important player over the next few years before leaving for Arsenal in 2014 and has recently got his scoring boots back on at Brighton.
Jesse Lingard – Birmingham/Brighton/Derby/West Ham
Lingard’s loan experience was two-fold, first preparing him for a United debut and then setting him back on the right path when that debut brought an injury nightmare. With Adnan Januzaj blocking his path to the first team in 2013/14, Lingard was sent out on loan to Birmingham where he scored an eye-catching four goals on his debut, prompting coach Terry McDermott to joke “I was a little disappointed because I thought he could have got five!”. He spent the second half of that campaign at Brighton, and was sent out to Derby after returning from the injury he suffered against Swansea on his United debut at the start of the 2014/15 season. Goals against Charlton and Huddersfield helped him take the Rams within a point of the play-offs. But it’s his spell this season at West Ham that has been the most eye-catching, with his goals and assists driving the Hammers on their surprise drive to reach the Champions League. A number of academy players have won titles with United having first enjoyed character-building spells away from Old Trafford, either elsewhere in the Premier League or further down the league pyramid.There are also plenty who took time out on loan before enjoying success elsewhere, such as Danny Simpson and Danny Drinkwater, but for now we’re focusing on those who broke through in a United shirt.
