Joseph Brennen Hugill was born in Durham on the 19th of October 2003. He joined the Newcastle United youth setup when he was a youngster, remaining there for the formative years of his career before doing the unthinkable, at least as far as the Magpies were concerned, by joining Sunderland’s Academy.
On the first of July 2020, he left Sunderland in order to sign for Manchester United, with the Red Devils having reportedly managed to gain the centre-forward’s signature ahead of clubs like Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. He made an impression by starting brightly and scoring four goals against Liverpool Under-23s.
That meant that he was just the second player in Manchester United history to score four goals against the club’s arch rivals at any level, repeating the feat achieved by Steve Jones in a reserves game back in 1977. As the pre-season for 2021-2022 got underway, Hugill was called up to train with the first-team and featured in friendly matches against Derby County and Queens Park Rangers.
He signed a new contract in July 2021, then in February 2023 he became one of three players who signed to play for Altrincham on loan for the remainder of the season, also gaining loan experience with sides like Wigan Athletic and Carlisle United.