Manchester United sanction Will Keane permanent transfer to Hull City

Manchester United have confirmed the transfer of Will Keane, who has joined Hull City on a permanent deal. The 23-year-old striker made three senior appearances for the Red Devils with two of them coming last season under former manager Louis van Gaal.

"Will Keane is joining Hull City on a permanent basis after the striker agreed a switch to the KCOM Stadium," a statement on United's official site read.

The England U21 international has agreed a three-year deal with the Tigers and will link up with former United assistant coach Mike Phelan, who oversaw his debut at Old Trafford. Keane joined the 20-time English champions as an 11-year-old and made his first team debut in 2011. The striker has revealed that he was keen on a permanent transfer after spending most of the last four seasons on loan with Wigan Athletic, Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield Wednesday, and most recently with Preston North End during the first-half of last season.

"I'm 23 now, so I wanted to come here on a permanent transfer and get settled," Keane told Hull's official site.

"I'm at that age where I want to be playing as many games as possible. I've been at Manchester United for a long time, so it is the end of an era but I couldn't really see a path through to the first team there.

"I'm relishing coming to Hull. Mike Phelan was a big factor in the move. I spoke to him a couple of times before making the decision, and obviously he was at United as assistant manager when I made my first team debut there. He was really good with me there and I'm looking forward to working with him again here," he explained.

Jose Mourinho is looking to trim his squad before the end of the transfer window and has sanctioned moves for a number of fringe players in recent weeks. James Wilson, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, Adnan Januzaj and Andreas Pereira have all left on loan, while Paddy McNair, Donald Love and Tyler Blackett among others have departed on a permanent basis.