Transfer deadline day: Nick Powell leaves Manchester United to complete Hull City loan switch

Manchester United's Nick Powell has left Old Trafford on transfer deadline day in order to embark upon the third loan spell of his short career. The 21-year-old, whose previous experience of the Championship came during a season-long stint with Wigan in 2013/14, has joined Hull until the end of the campaign.

"Steve Bruce has added to his attacking options with the signing of Nick Powell on loan from Manchester United until the end of the season," the Championship leaders announced via their official website.

"Powell, who can play as either a striker or attacking midfielder, completed the temporary move on Monday evening and will join his new team-mates for training on Tuesday. Powell will be eager to earn a place in the Tigers' side as he bids to get some regular football under his belt."

Manchester United also confirmed the move, tweeting: "Good luck to @NPowell25, who has joined Hull City on loan until the end of the season. #mufc."

Having established a reputation as one of the Football League's brightest young talents during his formative years with Crewe Alexandra, Powell joined Manchester United for an initial £3m ($4.3m) fee in June 2012. He has since made nine senior appearances in all competitions for the club, two of which came last December as he was introduced as a substitute by Louis van Gaal during consecutive defeats to Wolfsburg and Bournemouth.

The versatile attacker, who is out of contract in May, spent time on loan at Leicester following their promotion to the Premier League in 2014, but ended up being recalled halfway through the deal after featuring for just 40 minutes under Nigel Pearson.

Despite links with second-tier rivals Preston and Nottingham Forest in January, Powell's proposed move to Hull had been public knowledge for several days. Speaking before the 3-1 FA Cup fourth-round win at Bury on 30 January, manager Steve Bruce described the deal as a "no-brainer" and revealed that United assistant manager Ryan Giggs was a particular fan of the former England U21 international.

"I spoke with Giggsy on Thursday and asked him where he felt his best position was and he just said 'Up front'," he was quoted as saying by the Hull Daily Mail. "It wasn't a case of him being a number nine or a number 10, it was just up front. He really likes him.

"He's a forward thinking player, put it that way. He's 6ft 2in, he's quick. He was the superstar when he was younger. We all remember him scoring the goal he did when he was 17 at Wembley and Man United paying a huge fee for him."

Powell is the second player to join in-form Hull during the final few hours of the transfer window. Earlier on Monday, the Tigers also unveiled the signing of Slovakian goalkeeper Dusan Kuciak from Legia Warsaw on an 18-month deal.