Manchester United Striker Angelo Henriquez Will Score Goals for Wigan

Young Manchester United striker Angelo Henriquez is set to join Wigan Athletic on loan until the end of the season.

The highly rated 18-year-old marksman only joined United from Universidad de Chile in the summer, and a temporary move to Wigan will bring him increased first-team opportunities with the Premiership outfit.

Wigan boss Roberto Martinez is delighted to have captured the services of the prolific Chilean international, who scored on his debut appearance for his national side last month.

Speaking about the switch, Martinez reserved praise for Henriquez and feels his impending move to Wigan would be mutually beneficial (via DailyMail.co.uk),

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Angelo is as good a goalscorer as you will find. He scored goals at Universidad de Chile and he is going to score goals here. I am sure he will be an important player for United. We are glad we can work with him and he can use Wigan as Tom Cleverley did and adapt to what is needed in this league.

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Sir Alex Ferguson will hope for a repeat of the success seen when Manchester United loaned Tom Cleverley to Wigan in 2010-11. Cleverley enjoyed 25 first-team appearances with the Latics, which helped him develop into one of England’s brightest midfield stars.

It may prove to be another masterstroke by both clubs.

Martinez need not worry about Henriquez’s pedigree—at all international levels Henriquez has found the net with impressive regularity: He scored three goals from four appearances for Chile’s U17s and 14 goals from 10 appearances for the U20 side.

Of course, Henriquez will have to adapt to the rough and tumble of the English Premier League in order to continue his impressive progress. However, Sir Alex believes he has the necessary build to deal with such rigours, “He has an incredible physique for a boy of 18,” he said. (via Mirror.co.uk)

Henriquez has been impressing in Manchester United’s U21 side, but with Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez and Danny Welbeck ahead of him in the pecking order for a first-team berth, the move to Wigan can only be positive for his development.

Will Henriquez return to Utd as a first-team option or will he be another Federico Macheda? Give me your thoughts below or hit me up on Twitter @jonathanbeever.