The forward, who joined the Black Cats from their neighborhood rivals Newcastle United, shown some outstanding play for the team at the youth level.
In the summer of 2020, the then-16-year-old would finally sign a high-profile transfer to Manchester United for a rumored cost of about £250,000.
But it appears that some people from Sunderland have not yet forgotten about Hugill, which is maybe not surprising.
The Championship team reportedly wanted to bring the attacker back to the Stadium of Light on loan this summer in order to complete a reunion.
The most recent reports about Hugill’s future at Old Trafford, however, seem to indicate that the player and his present club are currently prioritizing a different kind of arrangement.
How is Hugill’s condition at Manchester United right now?
As things stand, the striker’s Old Trafford contract is set to expire next summer, which means he might leave the team at the conclusion of this year.
Hugill has yet to play in a competitive first-team match for the Premier League club, but he is off to a strong start with the Under 21s and is also believed to have caught the attention of manager Erik Ten Hag during training.
The Manchester Evening News reports that the striker is about to agree to a new three-year contract with the Red Devils, with the option of a further 12 months. As a result, it appears that United are now eager to ensure the long-term future of the player.
Once approved, that agreement will essentially guarantee Hugill’s stay at Old Trafford through the conclusion of the 2026–27 season.
By doing this, United would be hurting Sunderland or any other team that might have been considering a long-term transfer for the striker.
There is, however, evidence to support the claim that the Black Cats shouldn’t lose up on the possibility of a future reunion with Hugill just yet.
Should Sunderland pursue Hugill at this time?
Sunderland may find this news frustrating, but neither they nor anybody else should be shocked that United wants to keep a player whose potential they haven’t fully realized at the first-team level
However, in the near future, Sunderland may still be able to seize this chance to influence Hugill’s future.
The 19-year-old has only ever played for the first team once, during a loan stint with National League club Altrincham earlier this year. During that time, he scored once in seven league games.
To immediately join Ten Hag’s first squad at United would be a significant step up from that, therefore a loan to another team could help him bridge the gap.
Hugill may find the Stadium of Light to be the ideal temporary home given his familiarity with Sunderland and the fact that Black Cats head coach Tony Mowbray has a track record of fostering young players on loan from the Premier League.
Additionally, thanks to this new deal, United would be able to approve the transfer without worrying that the Black Cats or any other club might take action to secure a longer-term transfer during his absence.
In fact, given that it had been previously stated that the Black Cats were considering a loan deal expressly for the striker, that might also better suit their objectives.
With that in mind, even if this most recent development makes it seem as though Hugill’s long-term future is with Manchester United, you feel that does not necessarily rule out the possibility of a short-term reunion with Sunderland just yet.
Ryan Hedges was found to have intentionally knocked down the attacker while clearing the ball from within the Rovers area, giving the Black Cats the lead shortly before the half-hour mark. Jack Clarke converted the resulting penalty for the Black Cats.
Harry Leonard headed in from close range after a fantastic Callum Brittain cross gave the hosts a point after a little more than five minutes.
Dan Neill’s goal from the edge of the area in first-half stoppage time gave Sunderland the lead once more before the break, but Rovers had mishandled a corner kick.
With less than ten minutes of regulation time left after the break, the visitors would secure the victory, with Clarke scoring his second and Sunderland’s third of the game by taking advantage of a Hayden Carter mistake.
With that victory, Sunderland moved up to fourth place in the Championship standings, and Tony Mowbray will have much to think about when Cardiff City comes to the Stadium of Light this coming Saturday.
In light of this, we’ve looked at four lessons Sunderland’s victory at Blackburn taught us about them.
Even though Jack Clarke, one of the most dangerous wingers in the Championship right now, gave Sunderland the victory on Wednesday, it appears that he still has room for growth.
During the first half of the game, when the winger appeared to not be paying attention to his manager’s instructions, Mowbray said he was far from delighted for Clarke.
The 22-year-old appears to be able to turn things around quickly, which should worry other Championship defenses. Clarke then went on to score twice for Sunderland, and Mowbray later praised his effort.
Dan Ballard received a new contract from Sunderland earlier this summer, and the center showed at Ewood Park why they were wise to do so.
The center defender produced not one but two incredible stops to prevent Andrew Moran and Sam Szmodics from scoring what would have been goals for Rovers in the early going.
Ballard shown his importance to the Black Cats in this situation as well as the necessity of securing his future at The Stadium of Light. Had those goals been scored, the game might have had a completely different outcome with Sunderland facing a difficult assignment to get back into it.
Even though Mowbray only used two substitutions during the 90 minutes on Wednesday at Ewood Park, they still demonstrated the range of choices he will have moving ahead.
Adil Aouchiche, a PSG academy product who, at age 21, has already played more than 80 games in the French first division, and Patrick Roberts, a key member of the Black Cats’ run to the play-offs last season, were the two players brought in. Both are attack-minded players.
As a result, both should be more than capable of having an impact for Sunderland this season. When you also consider that Luis Semedo did not even make it to the substitutes’ bench and that Bradley Dack, Jewison Bennette, Eliezer Mayenda, Nazariy Rusyn, and Jewison Bennette are all still expected to return to the matchday squad, Mowbray should have plenty of options to choose from throughout the course of the season.
Given that Sunderland lost experience from an already inexperienced squad during the summer transfer window, there were some doubts as to whether they would be able to recreate their play-off run from the previous season.
The Black Cats, though, have already won three straight games, scoring 11 goals while only giving up two over that span, making them unbeaten in their previous five games overall.
At the end of the campaign, if they can continue playing in that manner, they will undoubtedly be in contention once more, and given the assurance this young team should have right now, they will undoubtedly think they can.
