Man Utd loan out youngsters in bespoke deal where they can still play for Devils

Manchester United added a few more names to the January exit pile, with youngsters Sam Mather and Sam Murray joining Rochdale on loan, but the deal is unlike some others.

The non-league side will have use of the pair as part of a 'bespoke' deal, whereby their parent club can exercise control on when they are available to Dale. United have explained this means they can still play and train with United's under-21s alongside "intermittent" action in the National League.

Both youngsters have featured for United's under-21s this term, with winger Mather scoring all four goals in the recent Premier League 2 victory over Norwich City. Murray, a left-back, also started the victory over the young Canaries.

Rochdale dropped out of the Football League last season after finishing bottom of League Two. At the time of writing, they sit just outside the play-off places in the National League.

“It’s a real bespoke loan experience that Manchester United have put together, to help their young stars benefit from experiencing first-team football," said Rochdale manager Jimmy McNulty, saying he was "delighted" to welcome the pair. “With where we’re at numbers-wise, the two players will be a definite help to us, as much as we’ll be a help to them.

“We won’t have access to those players all of the time, that will be at United’s control, which it should be," he added. “Initiatives like these are really useful for clubs in situations like us, whereby we are extremely tight on numbers.

“We’ve had to be incredibly flexible with guys we do have so far, in terms of playing players out of position, who have done an amazing job. Any niche initiatives from big clubs like this can only be helpful to us.”

Mather and Murray are two of four United youngsters to