I, like many other football fans love the loan system, mainly because football fans, Liverpool fans especially, want to see the next big star come through their own academy. We are all desperate to see the next Gerrard, Carragher or Owen. With more and more money being used in the modern game and the increase of players being brought in from foreign football clubs, it is difficult for the younger stars to make an impact in the first team set up, mainly because they don’t get a chance. This is why loaning a player out for a period of time, whether it be for six months or two years, can do wonders for a career.
Let’s take Romelu Lukaku for example; he was signed by Chelsea at the tender age of 18 for an original fee believed to be around £10 million, with add-ons the fee may raise to around £17 million. Chelsea opted to loan him out to West Bromwich Albion in 2012, where he has bulldozed teams with his turn of pace and ox-like strength, scoring 17 goals in 35 appearances along the way. This is just one example of many times a player hasn’t, in the manager’s eyes, been ready for the first team so they have sent them out to another club to give them some game time and it has ignited their career.
I will be honest, quite often the loan system doesn’t work, i.e. Nuri Sahin for Liverpool. Nuri Sahin was the Bundesliga player of the season in the 2010/11 after his very impressive performances with Borussia Dortmund. That sparked footballing giants Real Madrid to attempt to sign him, which they did in early May of 2011. He then, after an injury struck season in which he only made four appearances for The Whites, agreed to sign for Liverpool on loan. I’m not sure why a talent such as Nuri Sahin didn’t have an impact when he arrived. Was he was played out of position, did he not suit our style, did he not adapt well to the Premier League? Maybe a mixture of all of these things, either way, it didn’t work – he was sent back to Real Madrid in January 2013.
I’ve spoken about players who have been brought in by clubs and then loaned out, but now I want to discuss the benefits of sending players out on loan from an academy team. There is always one main goal when loaning a player out – To see how they can grow and develop as a player. Whether the manager is grooming them for the first team or just trying to add a little bit of money onto their price tag, is a different matter.
Let’s take Jay Spearing for instance; a player with such small stature but who makes up for it with his heart, passion and love for the club. He made quite a few appearances under Kenny Dalglish in the 2011/12 season, but it was clear to me that the, at that time 22 year old, wouldn’t cut it at Liverpool. When Liverpool announced Brendan Rodgers as their new manager in the summer of 2012, it put the last nail in the coffin for Jay Spearing, although Rodgers was quoted as saying Jay Spearing had “The soul of the club in his heart” he doesn’t suit Rodgers’ patient, tika-taka style of play. He was sent out on loan to Bolton Wanderers in late August and made 39 appearances for the club and won Bolton’s player of the year award. I don’t want Rodgers to sound cynical here, but I think he got what he wanted; a good season out of Jay Spearing which will boost his price tag thus giving him more money to buy his players.
When a young player is sent out on loan, it doesn’t just give them experience of playing a full 90 minutes of competitive football, it offers much more than that. A young player will never, or at least not often, have had the experience of a match day – The day of the game where all the fans are cheering, the manager is going through set tactics, the energy, nerves and excitement in the dressing room all build up to an amazing feel for the young players, which they just wouldn’t get in academy football. Even taking to the pitch with veterans of the game would help them improve. They would teach you so much, mentally and technically. Starting your first professional game will always be challenging and nerves will nearly almost be a problem, but at a lower club you may feel less pressure to perform than if you were going up against Premier League stars such as Juan Mata and Yaya Toure.
There are a few rumours about Liverpool’s younger players going on loan, mainly the ones who have tallied up a good amount of senior appearances, such as Suso and Andre Wisdom. These aren’t the only players who have great talent but may need a season in competitive football to kick start their professional career, I will go through the players I feel may need a spell away:
Conor Coady – From a young age Conor Coady was dubbed as a future star. With his scouse heritage, playing position and confidence for such a young player, it was inevitable that people would start planting the “next Steven Gerrard” tag on him, as if playing for Liverpool wasn’t enough pressure already! The young man from Liverpool got his chance to impress, in a Europa League game against Anzhi, which we ended up losing 1-0. Conor Coady has always represented England from the under 16s up until under 19s, he will also be captaining the England under 20s in the under 20s World Cup this summer, which will help get his name out there even more than it already is. Hopefully he can add another national success to the one he already has; the under 17s World Cup in 2010. That’s enough about his past. The reason, or rather reasons, I want him to go on loan next season are simple – He’s at the age now where if he has any future at Liverpool he really needs to start playing regular football and with the midfielders Liverpool have to offer, I can’t see him getting many chances next season. He could offer a lot for a club, his abilities for a start, his passion and his versatility too, as he can play both defensive midfield and centre back. I feel Conor should have a season on loan at a top League 1 side, as I’m not sure if he is technically good enough to compete at Championship level just yet.
Suso – Personally, I love Suso as a player. He’s got something that just stands out – his calmness on the ball and his vision is top class. Maybe the fact that he is a Spanish midfielder excites me; we all know how much talent they have in their ranks. This season due to Liverpool being very weak in terms of attacking options, Suso has had his chance to shine, mainly from the wing. Although I don’t think this is his best position, he’s still done a relatively good job when called upon. A player with all the potential in the world could really help a team who need a player to play the ‘killer pass’ out. The team in which Suso goes out on loan to, if he does, is very important. He needs to be going out on loan to a team who will play him regularly and preferably play him as the number 10 or attacking midfielder, which ever term you prefer. The side also needs to be a football playing side, a team that passes the ball around and is patient in possession – Wigan would have been perfect, but they got relegated and Suso is too good for the Championship. Like Chelsea did with Lucas Piazon, we could send Suso on loan to La Liga. He would suit the large majority of La Liga side’s style of play and may feel more at home over there.
Jonjo Shelvey – Jonjo Shelvey is often mocked by other club’s fans for some strange reason, he’s very talented, he’s just a bit of an idiot at times. Jonjo just needs to learn when and when not to do certain things, eg. shooting, passing and tackling. I think this will come with time and experience, which is the main reason I want him to go on loan. To get the experience of playing 30 + matches a season, he needs it desperately or he may just drift away. There were a few Liverpool fans asking for him to leave and rumours are flying around that Norwich are willing to pay £5 million for the talented Englishman. Have we learnt nothing from Tom Ince? He’s one of those players that I feel will be a decent Premier League player for the next 10 years, whether that is at the very top or near the bottom is yet to be seen, all I know right now is that we have to keep him on our books. Let’s give him a season on loan and see how he performs. I agree to a certain extent in the talk about him not fitting in with our formation, as he only suits the role that is currently inhabited by Steven Gerrard. That same role is also wanted by Henderson and Allen, who are both much better players right now. Although Jonjo has played attacking midfield, right winger and even ‘false 9’ before, so he’s used to playing unfamiliar roles in the side. Similar to Jay Spearing, if we do want to sell him, let’s give him a season on loan and hope his price increases, which to me it almost certainly will.
Andre Wisdom – This is an interesting one as he’s good enough to be in our squad and his versatility helps too, being able to play right back even though he is a centre back by trade. With Martin Kelly coming back from injury, Liverpool having already agreed to sign Kolo Toure and the strong links that we are close to signing Tiago Ilori and Kyriakos Papadopoulos from Sporting Lisbon and Schalke respectively, Andre Wisdom may find himself quite far down the pecking order at Liverpool next season. He’s certainly ready for the Premier League in my eyes and it would be nice for him to go to a football playing side, if Ashley Williams leaves Swansea this summer; Andre could step in to replace him.
Krisztian Adorjan – Perhaps the most unknown player I have spoken about as of yet, the Hungarian attacking midfielder is similar to Conor Coady in the sense that he is at that age where he needs to be playing first team football week in – week out. He’s very good on the ball and can split defences open with clever passes through to the forwards. Even if he isn’t destined to cut it at Liverpool and have a real impact on the squad, we may as well give him a season on loan and see how he develops, you never know, he could become a star. If by the 2014/15 season, when he will be 21, he hasn’t impressed, we should, depending on how well he did at said club, be able to get a bit of money for him.
Joao Carlos Teixeira – The Portuguese play maker is a real talent, that’s why Liverpool brought him from Sporting Lisbon for a fee that could potentially rise to around £1million. The 20 year old’s passing ability and first touch is a joy to watch. When he plays well he will control the tempo and pace of the game. Towards the back end of the 2012/13 season many were calling for him to be brought into the squad, although this didn’t happen and he is yet to make his senior debut. I feel once again he may feel more comfortable in a less physical League, as he could certainly compete at Championship level technically, he may get bulled out of games – La Liga would be a good fit.
Adam Morgan – Adam Morgan seems to have been around forever; although he’s only 19, he still seems to be a name that most fans know. With being a striker he needs to prove himself in competitive football to see how clinical in front of goal he can be. He showed he can score against Premiership level goalkeepers earlier on in the year when he scored a brace past Arsenal’s first team ‘keeper Wojciech Szczesny, in a game in which Liverpool under 21s beat Arsenal under 21s 3-2. Although he did have a brief spell at Rotherham on loan, he was recalled due to the injury suffered by Samed Yesil. Similar to many others, if he doesn’t impress he can be sold, but for now we have to keep him on our books, just in case. His level is probably League 1 currently, although he should, in theory, score plenty of goals which will help his confidence in that League.
All in all, I think Liverpool should utilise the loan system more to give our younger players more of a chance to make it at Liverpool, especially those who are around the age of 20. Players of that age need game time to truly progress and hopefully there will be some surprises in terms of who benefits most from a season away from the club.
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