{"id":422384,"date":"2026-01-22T06:57:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T06:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/422384\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T06:57:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T06:57:11","slug":"james-scanlon-hat-trick-confirmed-what-manchester-united-already-know-decision-is-now-due","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/422384\/","title":{"rendered":"James Scanlon hat-trick confirmed what Manchester United already know, decision is now due"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Manchester United academy winger James Scanlon has long been among the top performers in his age bracket, and against Sporting CP\u2019s U21 side, he reached new heights.<\/p>\n

Starting as the left winger for the U21s, James Scanlon<\/a> scored all three goals in Manchester United\u2019s 3-2 win vs Sporting<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Gibraltar international looked unstoppable when cutting inside onto his right foot, scoring two goals from range with the same placed technique.<\/p>\n

Most impressively, Scanlon did this in front of Michael Carrick<\/a> and the entire first team staff, which would have added pressure for all the players.<\/p>\n

Also in the stands was Jason Wilcox<\/a>, who got a reminder that he needs to make a decision over Scanlon.<\/p>\n

HOW good can James Scanlon be for Manchester United? <\/p>\n

After his best U21 performance, what is Scanlon’s ceiling?<\/p>\n

\"JamesPhoto by Zohaib Alam \u2013 MUFC\/Manchester United via Getty Images <\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc47 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say <\/p>\n

Scanlon\u2019s performance comes with United looking for additional left-wing options<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He will be hoping that he did enough to catch Carrick\u2019s eye and possibly get first team opportunities, but if not, Ineos<\/a> will have realised one thing.<\/p>\n

\"JamesPhoto by Manchester United\/Manchester United via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Quite simply, Scanlon is far too good to be facing youth opponents anymore, and he needs more of a challenge.<\/p>\n

Scanlon has impressed at an international level<\/a> for Gibraltar, so academy football is doing him no favours. Now, the hat-trick over Sporting should confirm this for Wilcox and the main decision makers.<\/p>\n

Playing youth football at this stage won\u2019t help Scanlon develop, especially if he isn\u2019t training with the first team.<\/p>\n

For anyone who watched Scanlon against Sporting, it is clear that United needs to take the next step with him, and this should be a loan.<\/p>\n

Who will be Michael Carrick\u2019s first Manchester United academy debutant? <\/p>\n

Carrick will need Carrington with no January signings\u2026<\/p>\n

\"JaycePhoto by Poppy Townson \u2013 MUFC\/Manchester United via Getty Images <\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc47 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say <\/p>\n

Manchester United now need to give Scanlon a loan move<\/p>\n

In an ideal world, Carrick would evaluate Scanlon as good enough to provide depth at left wing for United; however, this remains a questionable point with a loan his more likely route to professional football.<\/p>\n

At the end of last year, Scanlon was linked with a loan switch<\/a>, with scouts tracking his development.<\/p>\n

Scanlon was also expected to be sent on loan last summer, with a move to Scotland failing to come to fruition, and so over the next 11 days, United need to look into loan interest and give the teenager a move where he can thrive and develop.<\/p>\n

There is clearly something to Scanlon, and United need to give him the best chance of reaching his ultimate potential.<\/p>\n

Join Our Newsletter <\/p>\n

Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Manchester United academy winger James Scanlon has long been among the top performers in his age bracket, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":422385,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[39902,201504,39476,403,99,37112],"class_list":{"0":"post-422384","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer","8":"tag-ineos","9":"tag-james-scanlon","10":"tag-loan-players","11":"tag-soccer","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-under-21s"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=422384"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422384\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/422385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=422384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=422384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=422384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}