Hibernian in advanced talks to sign Manchester United midfielder

Manchester United have had their focus firmly fixed on the visit of Hull City this weekend, the opening fixture of Michael Carrick’s first full season in charge.

The build-up has been shaped as much by incomings as it has by team selection, with United closing in on a deal for Brighton’s Carlos Baleba to complete their midfield rebuild alongside the earlier additions of Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos.

Elsewhere at Old Trafford, the club’s academy graduates have been going through their own summer of transition, with loan exits shaping up to be just as significant a part of the club’s business as first-team recruitment.

One of those names now attracting fresh interest is Jacob Devaney, who is closing in on a return to the Scottish Premiership.

The 19-year-old spent the second half of last season on loan at St Mirren, making 18 appearances and starting both legs of the club’s Championship play-off final victory over Partick Thistle to secure their top-flight status.

Hibernian in talks to sign Manchester United midfielder

Jacob Devaney is now in talks with Hibernian over a fresh loan move north of the border, with negotiations understood to have reached an advanced stage, though the deal isn’t yet done, as reported by BBC Sport.

The Yorkshire-born midfielder had captained United’s Premier League 2 side for the first half of last season before his temporary move to Paisley, and returned to Carrington for pre-season this summer, featuring in wins over Wrexham and Rosenborg, scoring in the latter.

Interest in Devaney has reportedly been significant, with Leyton Orient also credited with tracking his situation before Hibernian’s advances gathered pace.

The midfielder was recently handed a new squad number at United, moving from 67 to 62 as part of the club’s summer reshuffle.

Devaney was also named Manchester United’s Youth Scholar of the Year in May 2025, and has continued his rise on the international stage, having been handed the captaincy for the Republic of Ireland Under-21s during their meeting with Qatar Under-23s in June.

Speaking last month about his future, Devaney made his priorities clear, “I want to play first-team football, whether that be at Man United for the next year or not. The main aim and goal for me is to play for Man United week in, week out.”

He added: “So whether I have to go on loan again and gain more valuable experience like what I have done at St. Mirren, that’s what I’ll do, or whether that be in the building, learning from the best, which is here at Man United, so we’ll see what happens.”