Will Keane was relegated to the reserves on Monday but made the most of his time on the pitch. Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

Will Keane pressed his case for a place in the Manchester United team by scoring a hat trick for their under-21s against Reading on his birthday.

The striker, who was recalled from a loan spell at Championship club Preston North End, was an unused substitute in Saturday's 1-0 win over Sheffield United.

And while his appearance in Wycombe on Monday indicated he is unlikely to be in Louis van Gaal's squad for Tuesday's away game at Newcastle, he turned 23 in style.

The former England Under-21 forward, the twin brother of Burnley defender Michael, scored two penalties and turned in a Matthew Willock shot in a comfortable win for Warren Joyce's side.

U21s: Will Keane seals his hat-trick from the spot. Watch the full 90 mins again on #MUTV tonight at 23:00 GMT. https://t.co/CflZzrMw2A - Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 11, 2016

Keane's sole first-team game for United came in 2011 and since then he has been loaned to Wigan, QPR, Sheffield Wednesday and Preston, scoring five goals in 50 senior fixtures.

First-team manager Van Gaal only has two out-and-out strikers, Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial, in his squad, although he has also used Marouane Fellaini, Memphis Depay and Jesse Lingard in central attacking roles.

Another attacking alternative is Adnan Januzaj, who has returned to Old Trafford after his unsuccessful loan spell with Borussia Dortmund was terminated by mutual consent.

United had initially considered fielding the Belgian against Reading but those plans were shelved.