Man United could recall trio of Championship loanees in January

The return of the Premier League is now less than four weeks away, with the English top flight set to kick off once again on Boxing Day. 

All 20 teams will be in action over the course of the three-day programme of fixtures, although any players that reach the World Cup final will have played less than a week earlier.

Several sides could face selection headaches during the early weeks of the Premier League’s return, with all 20 teams having had at least one player involved in the mid-season tournament.

With that in mind, it appears that one club are considering recalling a trio of loanees in an effort to bolster their squad.

As reported by The Manchester Evening News, Manchester United could recall three players that are all currently on loan in the Championship.

The report claims that Ethan Laird, Hannibal Mejbri and Amad Diallo could all return to Old Trafford in January, with manager Erik ten Hag looking to bolster his options ahead of a hectic second half of the campaign.

Laird, 21, is currently at Queen’s Park Rangers and has missed just one of The Hoops’ 18 league matches so far this term.

The right-back had impressed for The Red Devils during pre-season and was often selected ahead of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and United are now said to be considering recalling the defender to provide competition for first choice Diogo Dalot.

Diallo has only made nine appearances for United so far

Wan-Bissaka has fallen out of favour at Old Trafford and could be sold in January, the report claims.

Diallo, meanwhile, has been impressive in recent weeks for Sunderland, and could be used as a short-term replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo, who departed the club last week, during the second half of the season.

The 20-year-old winger joined United from Italian side Atalanta last year but has only made nine appearances for the club, although he has scored three goals and registered an assist in his last five games for The Black Cats.

United are wary that Ronaldo’s departure has left them short in terms of attacking options and they may therefore recall Diallo to provide cover for the likes of Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho.

The final player that could be recalled is Mejbri, who is currently on international duty with Tunisia at the World Cup in Qatar.

The 19-year-old has already made 20 appearances for his national side, and has also been in superb form whilst on loan at Birmingham City so far this season.

United could recall the teenager to add another option to their midfield ranks, with Mejbri having made 15 appearances for The Blues so far this season.