Manchester United Defender Joins Bournemouth On Loan [Details]

Manchester United defender Ethan Laird has been sent to Bournemouth on loan, the Red Devils confirmed Thursday.

The 20-year-old will be at Bournemouth for the second half of the 2021-22 campaign and his contract with the Cherries will expire at the end of the season, the club said in a statement on their website. He is set to wear the No. 3 shirt at Bournemouth.

Bournemouth competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English soccer league system. With 49 points from 25 games, Scott Parker's Bournemouth are currently at the top of the league table and Laird has a chance to help them win the title and return to the Premier League.

"Everybody at United would like to wish Ethan the best of luck for the second half of the season as we follow his progress at the Vitality Stadium," Man Utd wrote in an official release.

As an 18-year-old, Laird made his senior debut with Manchester United in 2019. The then-manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had traveled with a youth side to Kazakhstan for an away group game after Man United already sealed a place in the Europa League knockout phase. While Laird started the game for the Red Devils, he came off the bench in his side's final group game and played for about 22 minutes.

During the 2021 January window, Laird was sent on loan to Milton Keynes Dons, who compete in League One, the third tier of the English soccer league. He made 25 appearances for the club before switching to Swansea for a season-long loan ahead of the 2021-22 campaign.

However, Manchester United ended Laird's loan deal at Swansea earlier this month and was sending him to Bournemouth to gain further experience.

The attacking right-sided full back had an impressive run at Swansea. Bournemouth are expecting the young defender to replicate that performance for them.

"Ethan is an exciting prospect and we are very pleased to have brought him on board. His style of play fits perfectly with ours and I'm confident he can help us build on what has been an excellent first half of the season. He has impressed during his two previous loan spells and is very well thought of at Manchester United, so we couldn’t be happier to have secured his services." Neill Blake, AFC Bournemouth chief executive, told the club's official website.