AFC Fylde bring in Burnley midfielder on loan
AFC Fylde hope the loan signing of highly-rated Burnley midfielder Will Hugill will help the club to end their losing run.
The 21-year-old made his senior bow in the Carabao Cup at Wolves this season and has since enjoyed a loan month with Chester in National League North.
He has now joined the Coasters for a month and boss Kevin Phillips said: “We’re really pleased to add someone of Will’s quality to the group.
“He’s a tenacious midfielder, who Burnley have really high hopes for. We wanted some extra depth in that midfield area and we think this signing is a real coup for the club.”
Hugill said: “I’m a real high-energy midfielder. I’ll always get stuck into tackles and give 100 per cent.”
Phillips’ side have lost their last three games without scoring and look forward to a break from National League action at home to NL North high-flyers Kidderminster Harriers in the third round of the FA Trophy on Saturday.
They are back at Mill Farm next Tuesday for a rearranged crunch clash with bottom club Ebbsfleet United.
Fylde remain in the bottom three after Saturday’s 2-0 loss at Sutton United, a defeat which left Phillips with familiar feelings of frustration.
He told the club’s media team: “We played some really good stuff in the first half and were just waiting for someone to put the ball in the net.
“The message to the players has been the same for a while now – we need to be more clinical in the final third.
“We knew Sutton would want to be on the front foot in the second half with a higher intensity and the question was: can we deal with it? And the simple answer was no.
“We sensed the goal was going to come against us and they’re two poor goals from our point of view. It’s another loss, which hurts, and should hurt the players.”
The Coasters have also confirmed that Derby County loan defender Max Bardell, who made his full debut at Sutton, has extended his Mill Farm stay until the end of January.