James Wilson – Sheffield United

As noted in the end of 2017 report on potential loan players, James Wilson was one name that we hinted may be leaving for regular first-team football. He has joined Championship side Sheffield United, who are pushing for promotion to the Premier League.

After appearing as a substitute in the 0-0 draw against Sheffield Wednesday, he made his full league debut on Saturday against Norwich City. Wilson made an immediate impact, scoring after just six minutes.

Demetri Mitchell – Hearts

Mitchell has been a regular for Ricky Sbragia’s reserve side this season and was handed his Premier League debut against Crystal Palace last year. However, Mitchell – now 21 – has decided that he wants a taste of regular first-team football. He has joined Scottish side Hearts for the remainder of the season.

Hearts manager Craigh Levein has voiced his admiration of the youngster.

“He’s an exciting young talent at Manchester United,” Levein told STV. “They think very highly of him and feel it’s time for him to go out and play on loan.”

Timothy Fosu-Mensah – Crystal Palace

Fosu-Mensah has seen a resurgence in playing time over the Winter period for Crystal Palace. He has started the last four games and put in a man of the match display over Manchester City, were he had the talented Leroy Sane in his back pocket.

Since then, rumors of a recall have circulated, with the possibility of resting Antonio Valencia for a few games. Jose Mourinho recently removed any thought of a recall for Fosu-Mensah, saying that he is getting good game-time, so there is no need for him to return.

Palace chairman Steve Parish also quashed any rumors insisting that Tim was there for the remainder of the season.

“I think the clubs sent them to us knowing it’s a two-way street, we get a good player and we develop them,” he told the Five Year Plan Podcast.

Fosu-Mensah also contributed to halting any chance of a recall.

“I have enjoyed my time here and it’s a great opportunity to play in the Premier League and has been a good experience for me,” Fosu-Mensah told the Palace website.

Andreas Pereira – Valencia CF

Andreas has hit the ground running in 2018, continuing his form from before the Spanish winter break period. In the league, Pereira played 82 minutes against Girona F.C in Valencia’s 2-1 win but picked up a yellow card, which led to a 1-game suspension that he served against Deportivo La Coruna.

Valencia are third in La Liga, 11 points behind leaders Barcelona and two points behind Atletico Madrid. With their two wins, they have increased their gap to 8 points over fourth-placed Real Madrid.

Pereira has produced some solid performances for Valencia in the Copa Del Rey, playing three times in 2018. In the two legs against UD Las Palmas he started both games and grabbed an assist in the 4-0 home thrashing. He also started in the 2-1 home win in the first leg against Deportivo Alaves.

Mourinho recently stated that Pereira would remain at Valencia for the rest of the season.

“Pereira is happy. He’s playing. My only little concern is that he’s playing in a position that doesn’t exist in Manchester United,” he said at a press conference. “I think it is an amazing experience for him and we are happy to let him stay there.”

Sam Johnstone – Aston Villa

Aston Villa’s number one has a big 2018 in store for him. As we mentioned in our last report, Sam’s future may lie away from Old Trafford. Regular first-team football at in-form Championship side Aston Villa has seen the keeper find a consistent form, and interest into his availability has increased. Villa manager Steve Bruce has voiced his admiration of the shot-stopper and believes that he can tie him down to a permanent deal.

Johnstone has been essential to Villa’s recent form, which sees them fifth in the Championship. They have won the last three and Johnstone has kept clean sheets in all. Their last outing, a 1-0 win away at Nottingham Forest, saw Johnstone make some important saves in a closely fought match.

Mourinho has also provided an update on Johnstone’s situation.

“Sam Johnstone at Aston Villa is playing all the time and is an important player for them and they are going to fight for promotion. We are also happy to have him there.”

Cameron Borthwick-Jackson – Leeds United

Borthwick-Jackson is the first casualty of the loan watch as he has returned to Manchester United after an unsuccessful loan move at Championship club Leeds United. After a tumultuous six months that saw Borthwick-Jackson only play one Championship game – back in August, he will not look fondly on his time at Elland Road.

It is believed that both clubs mutually agreed for his return to Old Trafford, as all parties involved were not satisfied. He will most likely play the remainder of the season with the Reserves.

Dean Henderson – Shrewsbury Town

Young shot-stopper Dean Henderson has started 2018 the way he finished 2017 – in fine form. He has kept four clean sheets in his last six games, continuing Shrewsbury Town’s push to stay in the automatic promotion spots in League One. Unfortunately, he was on the end of a surprising 3-1 loss against Blackburn Rovers last week, who lurk just two points behind them.

Henderson has also had the chance to go against current England number one, Joe Hart. Shrewsbury Town forced West Ham United into a replay in the FA Cup Third Round after drawing 0-0 at home. It was a very assured performance from Henderson in the replay at the London Stadium, yet they came up just short, losing 1-0 after extra-time.

Henderson only has six months left on his contract at Manchester United, and a source close to the club told me he would not be happy with being third-string goalkeeper next season. With fellow young goalkeepers Joel Pereira and more recently Kieran O’Hara both signing new deals, Henderson may find his future at Manchester United questionable.

Although young, he is a very ambitious keeper and believes that he should be playing somewhere every week. His potential availability has drawn interest from Premier League clubs Arsenal and Chelsea as well as European clubs Benfica, Roma and Olympiacos.

Matty Willock – FC Utrecht

Matty Willock will remain at FC Utrecht for the remainder of the season. Willock has not had a great loan experience in the Dutch Eredivisie, featuring mainly for the U-21 side in the Juliper League, while sitting on the bench for the first-team.

Willock may have envisaged a starting role, or at least a role where he featured more heavily within the first-team, unfortunately, it has not been the case.

Regan Poole – Northampton Town

Regan has proved to be an essential part of Northampton Town’s defense. He has started the last five games, illustrating what confidence Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has in the Welshman.

He helped Northampton Town to 2-1 win against Bradford City in League One. His confident performance received many plaudits, and he proved his worth with a goal-line clearance in the final 15 minutes.

Devonte Redmond – Scunthorpe United

Redmond has returned to Manchester United after his 6-month loan spell finished last weekend. He played seven times for Scunthorpe United in what was a fairly unsuccessful time as far as game-time experience goes. He will return to Ricky Sbragia’s reserve side.