Will Fish 'staying at Hibs' despite claims of Manchester United recall in January

Hibs defender Will Fish is expecting to see out his loan spell with the Easter Road side, despite reports claiming parent club Manchester United are preparing to recall him in January.

The 19-year-old has only made two competitive appearances for the Capital club but manager Lee Johnson is a big fan of the England under-19 internationalist and gave him 82 minutes in last month’s mid-season friendly defeat by Middlesbrough.

Fish is understood to be happy in Edinburgh and Hibs chiefs have held positive talks about the player’s ongoing progress with their Old Trafford counterparts and as things stand, the centre-back is expected to spend the remainder of the campaign in green and white, with a view to getting more first-team action before returning to M16 in the summer.

He made his debut in a 1-0 defeat by Dundee United, playing the final 13 minutes at Tannadice, before coming on as a 79th-minute substitute in the 3-0 victory over St Mirren last month, but got more minutes under his belt than any other player in the 2-0 loss to Boro and will likely get further gametime in Thursday’s midday friendly with Raith Rovers.

Hibs don't expect Will Fish to be recalled by Manchester United in January

Fellow defender Ryan Porteous is approaching the final six months of his Easter Road contract, and the Scotland internationalist is free to speak to interested clubs and sign a pre-contract deal in January. Regardless of what happens with Porteous, keeping hold of Fish will be good for continuity and central defensive options, with Rocky Bushiri, Paul Hanlon, and Darren McGregor able to play there and under-19s regular Jacob Blaney also knocking on the door of the first team.