With a large squad and a lot of talented youngsters, it is important that Manchester United send players out on loan to continue their progress and gain valuable first team experience. Below is a list of several players who have been sent out on loan by United and how they are getting on.

Manchester United's Chilean forward Angelo Henriquez was sent out on loan to Wigan Athletic at the start of the January transfer window. Roberto Martinez brought Henriquez to the DW Stadium as back up to Arouna Kone and for cover when Kone went to the African Cup of Nations. Henriquez has only made two appearances for Wigan, one was a half time substitute in the FA Cup against Bournemouth, the other was against Sunderland. Henriquez scored in the 3-2 defeat to Sunderland, and his involvement in Wigan's first team will help the 18-year-old's development.

Fabio Da Silva, Rafael's twin brother is on loan at Premier League side Queens Park Rangers. With first team appearances hard to come by with Patrice Evra and Alexander Buttner in the squad, Sir Alex Ferguson believed a loan spell would help Fabio. During his time at Loftus Road, Fabio has made 20 appearances for the relegation-threatened club and scored in their 4-2 FA Cup defeat to MK Dons. But his time with QPR has been slightly overshadowed by injuries.

Federico Macheda, famed for his last minute winner against Aston Villa in 2009, has struggled to force himself into United's first team. Towards the end of January, Macheda was sent out on loan for the rest of the season to VFB Stuttgart. Macheda has made nine appearances for the German side and is yet to register a goal. Stuttgart's sporting director Fredi Bobic claimed that Manchester United had promised the German side the option to buy the striker at the end of the season, but Macheda has made it clear that he will return to Old Trafford.

United's Portuguese star Bebe is currently out on loan at Rio Ave in Portugal. After returning from injury after damaging his cruciate ligament, Bebe was sent on loan to the Portuguese side to continue to develop. Sir Alex Ferguson signed Bebe even though he had never seen him play and he has not featured much at Old Trafford. During his loan spell, Bebe scored on his debut in a 1-0 win over Maritimo. He has added another goal in his other seven outings for the side.

Michael Keane has been on loan at Leicester City since early November. The young centre back has featured heavily for the Foxes since he arrived on loan and has been impressing with strong displays and even earned a call up to Stuart Pearce's England under-21 squad. Keane has appeared for Leicester 20 times and chipped in with a few goals. Most importantly, Keane scored a last minute equaliser against United's bitter rivals Leeds.

Sam Johnstone is currently on loan at League One side Walsall. The young goalkeeper was England's under-17 goalkeeper when they won the European Championship in 2010. During his time at Walsall he kept a clean sheet in his first three games, only to concede in Walsall's last game against Sheffield United.

Young Italian playmaker Davide Petrucci is on loan at Peterborough United. The young midfielder has been hampered with injuries through his early days as a Manchester United player, but now this seems to be behind him. The Italian has incredible talent and is eager to impress while playing for Darren Ferguson. Petrucci has made three appearances for the Posh and he scored a screamer as they came from behind to beat Leicester 2-1.

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