Manchester United defender extends his loan spell at the iPro Stadium.

Derby County have extended the loan of Manchester United defender Michael Keane until the end of January 2014.

The 20-year-old England Under 21 international joined Derby from the Premier League Champions on an emergency loan at the end of November, which came to an end after yesterday’s Sky Bet Championship game against Wigan Athletic at the iPro Stadium.

The loan extension will run until Wednesday 29th January 2014.

He has made six appearances in a Derby shirt and has started the last three matches after skipper Richard Keogh sustained a knee injury last month.

Keane rose through the ranks at Manchester United and was a key figure in the Red Devils’ successful FA Youth Cup-winning team of 2011.

His form at youth level led him to graduate into United’s reserves, before being rewarded with a first-team debut during the League Cup win at Aldershot Town in 2011.

A consistent campaign saw him voted ‘Reserves Player of the Year’, prior to an England debut in May 2012 at Under-19 level.

He enjoyed an action-packed campaign last season; playing for the Red Devils’ first-team and impressing during a fine loan spell with Leicester City.

Keane started the Capital One Cup ties against Newcastle United and Chelsea for United, but the central defender’s first-team opportunities with the Reds remained limited, so a loan move to Leicester followed.

Despite only spending half a season with the Foxes, his impressive form at the club earned him a place on their three-man shortlist for their Player of the Year award, whilst in May earlier this year, he made his debut for the England Under-21s in a 4-0 win against Austria at Brighton’s American Express Community Stadium.

He has remained in the squad ever since and has scored in his last two England Under 21 matches against Finland and San Marino, helping Gareth Southgate’s side to back-to-back wins in their 2015 European Championships Qualification campaign.


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