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[article]Robbie Neilson insists Ben Woodburn is only going to get better for Hearts as he praised his 'real quality.'
The 21-year-old impressed on his home debut against Hibernian in the goalless Edinburgh Derby at Tynecastle.
The talented forward arrived on-loan from Liverpool amid much fanfare given his star pedigree.
Woodburn has barely trained with his new teammates due to international commitments with Wales but Jambos boss Neilson insists he's got something special.
He said: "To be fair to Ben, he's not really been with us that much.
"He came in, played against Dundee United, and then went on international duty.
"He came back on Thursday and he'll continue to get his fitness levels as he only played 13 minutes [with Wales]. He's got real quality."
Hearts new Sporting Director, Joe Savage, enjoyed a promising first summer transfer window as he worked in tandem with Neilson to add new recruits.
The Hearts boss has a strong squad to choose from and he admitted it was difficult to leave experienced players like Jamie Walker and Aaron McEneff out the matchday squad for the Edinburgh derby.[/article]
The 21-year-old impressed on his home debut against Hibernian in the goalless Edinburgh Derby at Tynecastle.
The talented forward arrived on-loan from Liverpool amid much fanfare given his star pedigree.
Woodburn has barely trained with his new teammates due to international commitments with Wales but Jambos boss Neilson insists he's got something special.
He said: "To be fair to Ben, he's not really been with us that much.
"He came in, played against Dundee United, and then went on international duty.
"He came back on Thursday and he'll continue to get his fitness levels as he only played 13 minutes [with Wales]. He's got real quality."
Hearts new Sporting Director, Joe Savage, enjoyed a promising first summer transfer window as he worked in tandem with Neilson to add new recruits.
The Hearts boss has a strong squad to choose from and he admitted it was difficult to leave experienced players like Jamie Walker and Aaron McEneff out the matchday squad for the Edinburgh derby.[/article]
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[article]Towards the end of today’s Championship fixture against Luton Town at Kenilworth Road, an allegation of racial abuse was made over comments made towards Swansea City’s Rhys Williams from a home spectator.
An official report was filed with the match official, Tony Harrington, and Bedfordshire Police at full-time.
Swansea City condemns racism and abuse of all kinds because it has no place within football or any walk of life.
The club would like to place on record its thanks to both Bedfordshire Police and Luton Town Football Club for their swift response at the end of the game.
Bedfordshire Police has launched a full investigation into the incident. Officers have been to the ground to carry out enquiries and are working with Luton Town to identify the people involved.
Rhys has the full backing of everyone at the football club and we are in dialogue with his parent club Liverpool with regards to ensuring the player has all the support he needs.
Swansea City will continue to work with the relevant authorities on this matter.[/article]
Adam Lewis played in midfield for the full match vs. Celtic to help Livingston seal their 1st league win of the season
[article]Liverpool defender Ben Davies has not given up on a future at the club.
When he signed from Preston North End last January, the Reds had a litany of injuries at centre-half.
Now the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip are fit to play.
Davies is on loan at Sheffield United in the Championship this season, but he still has hopes of breaking through at Anfield.
"I spoke to Ben recently," said reporter Nathan Hemmingham on a special Blood Red podcast, via the Liverpool Echo.
"He said first and foremost he's not thinking about anything major; it's just about this season and playing again - and playing to the best of his ability and trying to get back to the player he was at Preston when Liverpool came in for him.
"Then in the summer he wants to go back to Liverpool to see if the door is open, because you don't know what happens.
"He wants to have a good pre-season with Liverpool, see where the land lies, and see if he can try and impress the manager, Jurgen Klopp.
"But if Liverpool are happy to let him leave permanently, I'm sure, providing he impresses and become the player everyone who has tracked him these past 12 months have been convinced he is, Sheffield United will be looking at that."[/article]
When he signed from Preston North End last January, the Reds had a litany of injuries at centre-half.
Now the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip are fit to play.
Davies is on loan at Sheffield United in the Championship this season, but he still has hopes of breaking through at Anfield.
"I spoke to Ben recently," said reporter Nathan Hemmingham on a special Blood Red podcast, via the Liverpool Echo.
"He said first and foremost he's not thinking about anything major; it's just about this season and playing again - and playing to the best of his ability and trying to get back to the player he was at Preston when Liverpool came in for him.
"Then in the summer he wants to go back to Liverpool to see if the door is open, because you don't know what happens.
"He wants to have a good pre-season with Liverpool, see where the land lies, and see if he can try and impress the manager, Jurgen Klopp.
"But if Liverpool are happy to let him leave permanently, I'm sure, providing he impresses and become the player everyone who has tracked him these past 12 months have been convinced he is, Sheffield United will be looking at that."[/article]
[article]Liverpool defender Sepp van den Berg is winning great praise at loan club Preston North End.
He lines up in the Preston backline alongside former Reds academy player Joe Rafferty, who believes he understands why Liverpool decided to sign Van den Berg.
“Physically he's a beast. He's got all the attributes, he's big, he's strong, he's powerful, he's quick," Rafferty said.
“And not just that, technically he's really good. That's probably why Liverpool bought him.
“He eventually wants to be a centre-back and I think he's got all the attributes to be a centre-back."
For the 19-year-old, he is using the opportunity to develop and return to Liverpool as a more well-rounded player.
The defender made his Reds debut against MK Dons in September 2019 and hopes to be back in first team contention next season.
“[The Championship] is really tough, it's physical, it's going quick, it's going from end to end, but that's why I came back", Van den Berg said.
“I think that's what I need to develop more as a player. It's tough but I'm just enjoying every game.
“For me it's about improving here and then hopefully come back in the summer to Liverpool and show them what I've got and hopefully get a spot in the team."[/article]
He lines up in the Preston backline alongside former Reds academy player Joe Rafferty, who believes he understands why Liverpool decided to sign Van den Berg.
“Physically he's a beast. He's got all the attributes, he's big, he's strong, he's powerful, he's quick," Rafferty said.
“And not just that, technically he's really good. That's probably why Liverpool bought him.
“He eventually wants to be a centre-back and I think he's got all the attributes to be a centre-back."
For the 19-year-old, he is using the opportunity to develop and return to Liverpool as a more well-rounded player.
The defender made his Reds debut against MK Dons in September 2019 and hopes to be back in first team contention next season.
“[The Championship] is really tough, it's physical, it's going quick, it's going from end to end, but that's why I came back", Van den Berg said.
“I think that's what I need to develop more as a player. It's tough but I'm just enjoying every game.
“For me it's about improving here and then hopefully come back in the summer to Liverpool and show them what I've got and hopefully get a spot in the team."[/article]
[article]When Harvey Elliott told Leighton Clarkson to join Blackburn Rovers this summer, the then-19-year-old Liverpool youngster, who made his Champions League debut last season, did not need much convincing.
Clarkson lives around the corner from the Brockhall training ground occupied by Blackburn, the club he supported as a child, and the chance to join his boyhood team was not going to be one he missed.
"It is a bit weird," Clarkson said when he signed on loan. "I watch them every season and now to be in and around them, there are quite a few players I know from playing against them through the years. But it’s a good thing!"
Fourteen matches into the Championship season, Clarkson has made four league starts and appeared off the bench twice — still very much adapting to the demands of playing regular senior football, and with plenty of competition for places.
Blackburn are a team in transition, having lost two of their most important players from last season — Adam Armstrong, as well as Elliott — over the summer.
Armstrong signed for Southampton for £15m in August, and while he has only scored once in eight Premier League appearances to date, he netted 29 times in all competitions last season when he was Blackburn's main man.
That volume of goals being removed would be hard enough to recover from losing, but adding in the loss of Elliott — who was clearly a few levels above Blackburn, as he showed before his injury against Leeds United — means things have changed even more considerably.
"Blackburn have changed their style from being about ball retention to being a more direct team," said LancsLive's Blackburn reporter, Jaquob Crooke, on a podcast exclusively for members of the Blood Red Club.
"They look to play balls long and in behind because after their recruitment in the summer, manager Tony Mowbray didn't feel like they had the players to continue to play in the same way they did last season.
"Leighton has come in and it is a direct team. There were question marks about his physicality beforehand and the new style does not bring out his best qualities.
"He is still in that adaptation phase, but has made a couple of starts where we have been treated to a few glimpses of his incisive passes.
"But when he has made substitute appearances, it has been difficult for him to impose himself, especially when Rovers are just trying to get it to their forwards as quickly as possible, and he has to pick up scraps.
"If you are a team who is looking to impose yourself on the game, then Leighton can run it from deep, but the problem with Blackburn is that they need that protection in front of them, and Lewis Travis offers that in abundance."
Travis, Joe Rothwell and John Buckley have been playing in midfield for the most part. With all three in good form, it has made it difficult for Clarkson to force his way into the side, though Blackburn fans have got behind him as a local player.
His versatility and game intelligence — two things that led Jürgen Klopp to compare Clarkson to Phillip Lahm after his European bow against FC Midtjylland last season — have made that easier than it might have been.
"Leighton started against QPR as a number 10 behind a front two, where he was picking up pockets of space and feeding the attackers, but he is best in a deeper role where he can dictate and spray passes.
"He has shown that he can dictate games and influence Rovers' matches in their favour.
"Mowbray likes him a lot; he thinks he is a very technically-gifted player and he likes the qualities he has on the ball, but he is wary of how he can impose himself from a physical perspective.
"He will get chances as the season goes along because the Championship causes havoc to squads with injuries, and the manager is a big fan.
"He trusted Clarkson against Huddersfield, who were sitting deep, to be the one to pick a pass, and even though nothing came to fruition, you could see he does trust him to carve open defences, and that eventually will tell in fixtures to come."
While it might appear that Clarkson's time at Blackburn has been a struggle so far, then, there are plenty of reasons to be encouraged.
The whole point of him moving on loan was that he could face up to and overcome challenges like these, and while it might have been better for him to play for Blackburn last season when their style was more aligned with how Liverpool play, this season will only aid his development.
Clarkson is a very different player to Elliott — most are — but there is still ample time remaining for his spell in the second tier to become a success.
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https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport...wansea-citys-russell-martin-explains-22110785
[article]Russell Martin has held talks with Rhys Williams over his position at the club following his tough start to life at Swansea City.
The defender joined the Swans on a season-long loan deal from Liverpool on transfer deadline day after signing a new contract with the Reds.
However, he has featured just four times in all competitions for the club - with the most recent of those outings coming as a late substitute in the 2-1 win over West Brom in October.
The same applies to the likes of Brandon Cooper and Ben Cabango who are struggling to force their way into the starting XI given the impressive form of Kyle Naughton, Ryan Bennett and Ryan Manning in the back three.
"Rhys Williams is another one, we spend a lot of time doing individual work with him," explained Martin.
"His attitude is fantastic. I think he's come a long way in the short period of time he's been with us, he's improved a lot.
"But he's come out of the team when he had a really tough period, and since then the guys have kept so many clean sheets and played so well.
"Ryan Bennett has been exceptional. Ryan Manning has been so important for us and Naughts is Naughts, he goes understated. His level of consistency is outrageous for the position he's playing in.
"Ben Cabango is really unlucky to be out of the side at the minute because when he has come back in, like at Derby, the way he recovered since that Fulham game, and West Brom, he's been outstanding.
"Rhys understands that and I'm honest with the guys. We had another conversation last week about his position, and I think he understands, whatever happens, he'll go back to Liverpool better for this.
"It's football. There'll come a point where he gets the chance to be involved on the pitch again and then he has to take it. All he can do now is focus on being present every day, training as well as he can and supporting his team mates then wait for his opportunity.
"It's not easy to leave these guys out, but the guys in front of him are playing exceptionally well."
Williams' situation will no doubt be assessed ahead of the January transfer window, and with Liverpool keen to see the 20-year-old develop away from Anfield this season, a decision may need to be made on his short-term future.
Despite his struggles, Martin believes Williams has improved during his time in south Wales so far, although he concedes Jurgen Klopp's outfit will understandably have concerns over his lack of game time.
"I don't think they'll be overly happy he's not involved, but we have to what's right for our football team and our club," admitted the Swans boss.
"I think they understand what's gone on. We've been really supportive of Rhys during a tough period, but he's come through it brilliantly.
"Whatever happens he'll go back there better. The first loan at this level is really difficult sometimes.
"He started in the team then had a little injury. The guys at Liverpool understand, they've been down to watch him train, they really enjoyed the environment and how hard he's working.
"There are some bits I feel he's improved on. We spend a lot of time with the young guys to help them, and he's embracing the work and putting everything into it and that's all we can ask."[/article]
[article]Russell Martin has held talks with Rhys Williams over his position at the club following his tough start to life at Swansea City.
The defender joined the Swans on a season-long loan deal from Liverpool on transfer deadline day after signing a new contract with the Reds.
However, he has featured just four times in all competitions for the club - with the most recent of those outings coming as a late substitute in the 2-1 win over West Brom in October.
The same applies to the likes of Brandon Cooper and Ben Cabango who are struggling to force their way into the starting XI given the impressive form of Kyle Naughton, Ryan Bennett and Ryan Manning in the back three.
"Rhys Williams is another one, we spend a lot of time doing individual work with him," explained Martin.
"His attitude is fantastic. I think he's come a long way in the short period of time he's been with us, he's improved a lot.
"But he's come out of the team when he had a really tough period, and since then the guys have kept so many clean sheets and played so well.
"Ryan Bennett has been exceptional. Ryan Manning has been so important for us and Naughts is Naughts, he goes understated. His level of consistency is outrageous for the position he's playing in.
"Ben Cabango is really unlucky to be out of the side at the minute because when he has come back in, like at Derby, the way he recovered since that Fulham game, and West Brom, he's been outstanding.
"Rhys understands that and I'm honest with the guys. We had another conversation last week about his position, and I think he understands, whatever happens, he'll go back to Liverpool better for this.
"It's football. There'll come a point where he gets the chance to be involved on the pitch again and then he has to take it. All he can do now is focus on being present every day, training as well as he can and supporting his team mates then wait for his opportunity.
"It's not easy to leave these guys out, but the guys in front of him are playing exceptionally well."
Williams' situation will no doubt be assessed ahead of the January transfer window, and with Liverpool keen to see the 20-year-old develop away from Anfield this season, a decision may need to be made on his short-term future.
Despite his struggles, Martin believes Williams has improved during his time in south Wales so far, although he concedes Jurgen Klopp's outfit will understandably have concerns over his lack of game time.
"I don't think they'll be overly happy he's not involved, but we have to what's right for our football team and our club," admitted the Swans boss.
"I think they understand what's gone on. We've been really supportive of Rhys during a tough period, but he's come through it brilliantly.
"Whatever happens he'll go back there better. The first loan at this level is really difficult sometimes.
"He started in the team then had a little injury. The guys at Liverpool understand, they've been down to watch him train, they really enjoyed the environment and how hard he's working.
"There are some bits I feel he's improved on. We spend a lot of time with the young guys to help them, and he's embracing the work and putting everything into it and that's all we can ask."[/article]
Involved in all 3 goals for Tranmere so far
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Preston loan star Sepp van den Berg can't help but fall in love with North End
[article]Sepp van den Berg believes his spell playing as a wing-back has helped him become a more rounded player.
The Dutch star arrived at North End in the January transfer window this year on loan from Liverpool.
Very much billed as a centre-half, the 19-year-old was thrust into a unfamiliar right wing-back role by previous PNE boss Alex Neil last season.
Armed with athleticism and high energy, it was certainly a role which the Dutchman had the physical capabilities to carry out.
His performances in the position were such that when Frankie McAvoy took over, he kept him as his first-choice right wing-back until the end of the campaign.
And when the new PNE manager thrashed out a deal with Reds boss Jurgen Klopp to bring him back to Deepdale in the summer on loan, he continued wide on the right for the start of the season.
While happy to do a job for the team in whatever position he is asked, Van den Berg has always maintained that his favoured position is centre-half.
In recent games he has been afforded the opportunity to play more centrally for North End – on the right-hand side of a back three.
Van den Berg admits he is pleased to have been handed an opportunity at centre-half, but that’s not to say he has not enjoyed his spell at wing-back.
“I have been a centre-back my whole life,” said Van den Berg, who began his career with PEC Zwolle before signing for Liverpool in 2019 for a fee which could rise to more than £4m.
“I was a centre-back when I joined Liverpool and before that.
“I know that is my preferred position, but playing wing-back helped me in situations such as one-versus-one.
“It has helped me be quicker in small spaces.
“I think if you try out different positions, it develops you as a player.
“Playing wing-back is much more intense – you have to be going up and down the wing – sprinting, whereas at centre-back, you’re constantly on the move but there is more thinking involved.
“When I play wing-back, of course there is a game plan and tactics, but it’s more about giving my all and running.
“At centre-back you have to think about strikers dropping in or covering the wing-back.
“It is totally different. I do like both positions but I think centre-back is more me.
“But playing at wing-back has certainly helped me. It has given me confidence and experience because I hadn’t played in the Championship before.”
Van den Berg has certainly made an impression in his short time at North End and has become a firm favourite amongst the supporters.
The youngster admits he is thoroughly enjoying his time with the Lilywhites and has fallen in love with the club.
“I really like it here,” he said. “All the staff and players are really nice so I really do feel at home.
“When you play the games and you see that the fans like you as well, it gives me a nice feeling.
“If you are liked, I am a guy who values that very highly.
“It makes me feel at home straight away. I am falling in love with this club and just really enjoying it.”
Van den Berg – who was on international duty with the Dutch Under-21s over the past week – will be hoping to keep his place at centre-back for the visit of Cardiff City to Deepdale.
The Bluebirds are struggling at the moment and are currently just two places and three points above the relegation zone in the Championship.
“Cardiff are always a hard opponent,” said Van den Berg, who has made one FA Cup and three League Cup appearances for Liverpool but has yet to feature in the Premier League.
“I remember playing at their place last season and we got beaten.
“The Championship is not easy but I feel with us playing at home, we have to get the three points.”
[/article]
[article]Sepp van den Berg believes his spell playing as a wing-back has helped him become a more rounded player.
The Dutch star arrived at North End in the January transfer window this year on loan from Liverpool.
Very much billed as a centre-half, the 19-year-old was thrust into a unfamiliar right wing-back role by previous PNE boss Alex Neil last season.
Armed with athleticism and high energy, it was certainly a role which the Dutchman had the physical capabilities to carry out.
His performances in the position were such that when Frankie McAvoy took over, he kept him as his first-choice right wing-back until the end of the campaign.
And when the new PNE manager thrashed out a deal with Reds boss Jurgen Klopp to bring him back to Deepdale in the summer on loan, he continued wide on the right for the start of the season.
While happy to do a job for the team in whatever position he is asked, Van den Berg has always maintained that his favoured position is centre-half.
In recent games he has been afforded the opportunity to play more centrally for North End – on the right-hand side of a back three.
Van den Berg admits he is pleased to have been handed an opportunity at centre-half, but that’s not to say he has not enjoyed his spell at wing-back.
“I have been a centre-back my whole life,” said Van den Berg, who began his career with PEC Zwolle before signing for Liverpool in 2019 for a fee which could rise to more than £4m.
“I was a centre-back when I joined Liverpool and before that.
“I know that is my preferred position, but playing wing-back helped me in situations such as one-versus-one.
“It has helped me be quicker in small spaces.
“I think if you try out different positions, it develops you as a player.
“Playing wing-back is much more intense – you have to be going up and down the wing – sprinting, whereas at centre-back, you’re constantly on the move but there is more thinking involved.
“When I play wing-back, of course there is a game plan and tactics, but it’s more about giving my all and running.
“At centre-back you have to think about strikers dropping in or covering the wing-back.
“It is totally different. I do like both positions but I think centre-back is more me.
“But playing at wing-back has certainly helped me. It has given me confidence and experience because I hadn’t played in the Championship before.”
Van den Berg has certainly made an impression in his short time at North End and has become a firm favourite amongst the supporters.
The youngster admits he is thoroughly enjoying his time with the Lilywhites and has fallen in love with the club.
“I really like it here,” he said. “All the staff and players are really nice so I really do feel at home.
“When you play the games and you see that the fans like you as well, it gives me a nice feeling.
“If you are liked, I am a guy who values that very highly.
“It makes me feel at home straight away. I am falling in love with this club and just really enjoying it.”
Van den Berg – who was on international duty with the Dutch Under-21s over the past week – will be hoping to keep his place at centre-back for the visit of Cardiff City to Deepdale.
The Bluebirds are struggling at the moment and are currently just two places and three points above the relegation zone in the Championship.
“Cardiff are always a hard opponent,” said Van den Berg, who has made one FA Cup and three League Cup appearances for Liverpool but has yet to feature in the Premier League.
“I remember playing at their place last season and we got beaten.
“The Championship is not easy but I feel with us playing at home, we have to get the three points.”
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10 mins + interview
How Liverpool’s 13 players out on loan are faring
By Caoimhe O'Neill Nov 26, 2021
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Liverpool currently have 13 players out on loan.
To see how each player is faring, The Athletic have chatted to fans, managers, coaches and players of all 13 clubs to bring you the lowdown.
From an FAI Cup final-bound goalkeeper and player of the season in Vitezslav Jaros to Jakub Ojrzynski, one of the stars of Cymru Premier, who has fans waiting to greet him after every game.
Here’s an on-the-ground perspective of how each loan player is performing.
Ben Davies, Sheffield United
Let’s start with the most senior player out on loan.
Ben Davies has that status due to his age rather than the minutes he has accrued for the Liverpool first team. Since arriving from Preston North End on transfer deadline day in January 2021, the 26-year-old has not played a single minute of competitive football for Jurgen Klopp.
Davies had been brought in alongside Ozan Kabak in a late attempt to offset the disruption caused in the long-term absences of Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip. The central defender failed to have the impact he desired and at the start of this season returned to the Championship on loan with Sheffield United.
Since the deal was announced in August he has featured 12 times helping to keep four clean sheets for United. The Yorkshire club have found their return to the league challenging following Premier League relegation and it this week cost manager Slavisa Jokanovic, who was only appointed six months ago, his job.
Ben Meakin, who is the creator and host of BladesPod, believes Davies has shown glimpses of quality, particularly when passing out from the back, though many United fans remain unconvinced of his physical capabilities.
“He’s a good player. I thought that before he came here and that’s what we are seeing when he has been on the pitch,” Meakin tells The Athletic. “I don’t know how clued in Liverpool fans are to our defence but we have a fantastic centre-back in Jack O’Connell and he has been injured for coming up to two years now. O’Connell was tremendous in his first season in the Premier League then he got injured and we have massively struggled to replace him ever since.
“Davies was a player I really wanted us to sign when we were still in the Premier League but he went to Liverpool instead. He is a solid enough defender at Championship level. He is a really good passer which is something the players we have tried to replace O’Connell with have not been good enough at. Slavisa Jokanovic obviously wanted to build out from the back and Davies is just a big step up from anyone else in doing that. We have already seen a couple of times this season he has played a 40-yard pass straight into attack and that leads to a good chance or a goal.
“We need a more physical defender back there but that is more down to the other pieces around him… our defence is such a mess at the moment,” Meakin continues. “We have had four different goalkeepers in our first few games for various reasons such as Aaron Ramsdale leaving. The pieces around Davies have kept changing. We do need someone who is more physically imposing back there. But I do see that as more of a responsibility on the other players because the pluses Davies brings like being able to play it out from the back are so positive.
“He has not solved our defensive woes and a section of our fanbase have been a bit disappointed with him. Maybe they were hoping he would be something that he is not. I knew his strengths and weaknesses from his time at Preston and I’m a fan of him. I’d still like him to be around next season if that is at all feasible.”
Sepp van den Berg, Preston North End
As part of the deal to bring Davies to Liverpool in January, fellow defender Sepp van den Berg went the other way.
The Netherlands youth international, who is a centre-back by trade, impressed during his 16 appearances with Preston in the Championship.
Preston manager Frankie McAvoy was “absolutely delighted” when Liverpool allowed Van den Berg to return on loan this season.
“He quickly became a fan favourite last season,” says Jake Oates, who hosts the From the Finney podcast as well as working as a journalist for Lancs Live. “Bringing him back was a no brainer from the club and great for the fans. We brought him in at centre-back but he cemented a place at right wing-back. He is now one of the first names on the teamsheet. The fans love him.
“It was a shrewd move from the manager to put him in at right-back last season, he’s a big lad but very slight and athletic. North End fans wondered whether he would hold up to the rigours of Championship football looking at his frame. But then he started playing on the right and his athletic capability shone through. In the last few games he has been playing as a right-sided centre-back and he has shown us he can do it. He has just consistently hit a certain level and has been a seven or eight out of ten most weeks.
“Off the pitch, his best qualities are his humour and enthusiasm definitely. On the pitch, it is his versatility. He has played at right-back, right-wing-back, at centre-half in a back five, four and three. That will stand him in good stead for the rest of his career. He’s got some engine on him the way he gets up and down the pitch — he is no slouch. Frankie has had nothing but good things to say about him and the fact he keeps picking him in all those different positions speaks volumes.”
After defeat against local rivals Blackpool last month, Van den Berg, who has been a mainstay for Preston having played 23 times in all competitions, applauded the fans for their support.
“It takes guts for a young lad to do that when some of our more senior players went straight down the tunnel,” Oates adds. “It is little things like that which have endeared him to the fans. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up winning our player or young player of the season.”
Rhys Williams, Swansea City
Another central defender out on loan is Rhys Williams.
The 20-year-old was crucial to helping Liverpool recover in the final months of the 2020-21 season as they claimed a Champions League qualification spot.
Williams, who was loaned to Swansea on deadline day, has not had the best experience so far and has featured just four times in all competitions. But even given his lack of regular minutes for the Championship club, manager Russell Martin believes he will go back to Liverpool better for it.
“It’s football,” Martin said recently. “There’ll come a point where he gets the chance to be involved on the pitch again and then he has to take it. All he can do now is focus on being present every day, training as well as he can and supporting his team-mates then waiting for his opportunity. It’s not easy to leave these guys out, but the guys in front of him are playing exceptionally well.”
Steve Carroll, who features on the Swansea Oh Swansea podcast, helps assess his time at the club so far.
“He started the game against Hull and then at Luton where there was that unfortunate incident where he was racially abused. That game in general was a poor game for Swansea, who were 3-0 down at half-time. Nobody was playing well,” Carroll explains. “The manager made three subs at the break and Rhys was one of them. Then it just so happened we came back 3-3 after that.
“I’m not sure he was taken off to do with the incident which happened or it was just a case of the manager deciding he was one of the ones to come off. That game I am looking at as a bit of a turning point in the wrong direction for Rhys. He has been unlucky. With Swansea’s back three, two of the players playing at centre-half are converted full-backs. They have done well. He has been unlucky in the sense that sometimes if the team is doing well it is difficult to get back in the side. If there is a suspension or injury it might be the case that he comes in and does well and he might be up and running again. But at the moment the season has just gone against him, unfortunately.
“Kyle Naughton, Ryan Bennett and Ryan Manning are the three centre-halves playing regularly. I’d say Ben Cabango is next in line if there is an injury or suspension and then Rhys. He is the second back-up really, which isn’t a great position to be in. There hasn’t been a lot of squad rotation from the manager either, he has found a settled team. It is just one of those things that hasn’t worked out yet.
“The defence have been doing really well so there has been no massive clamour from the fans for Rhys to come in. I do think everyone would like to see more of him so they could form that opinion. But there hasn’t been that opportunity. The Championship is a brutal league as there are a lot of games. The Christmas period has more games as well so there could be a chance for him.”
Sheyi Ojo, Millwall
Sheyi Ojo is on a season-long loan at Millwall and has appeared 11 times in the Championship. The left-winger, who is now 24, will see his contract at Liverpool expire next summer having joined the club’s academy in 2011 from MK Dons.
Millwall assistant manager Adam Barrett gives The Athletic his thoughts on Ojo’s start to life at The Den.
“Sheyi is a really good lad,” he says. “He has got a nice way about him. He has integrated himself into the group really well. He works hard and he has got great ability. The challenge now for Sheyi is finding that consistency. It is about making his ability really count in the final third a little bit more.
“We have been really pleased with him and his work ethic. Hopefully, he is going to be an important player for us this season. We aren’t a team of superstars, everyone has to put a shift in and he’s understanding how we want to play and he is applying himself every day in training to get the best out of himself. He has been a delight to work with. He takes in what the staff and management team want and has been a good asset for the squad so far.
“He’s a quiet lad who just goes about his business. He is someone who wants to learn and wants to get better. He is popular among the other players. He has fitted in seamlessly and settled in well. He has shown glimpses of what he can do but I think there is more to come from him. Hopefully, the supporters will see this season what a talent he is. He can change a game and can produce something out of nothing — it is just about finding that on a more regular basis.”
Ben Woodburn, Hearts
After featuring on the bench against Norwich City on the opening day of the Premier League season, Ben Woodburn was loaned out to Hearts of the Scottish Premiership.
Woodburn, whose contract at Liverpool will expire next summer, has played 11 games for Hearts who sit third in the table.
It is the 22-year-old’s fourth loan spell following time at Sheffield United, Oxford United and more recently Blackpool.
Andrew Petrie is a freelance commentator who covers Scottish football for BBC Sport Scotland and has kept a close eye on the Wales international’s progress.
“When Hearts first got linked with him I was pleasantly surprised. Hearts’ recruitment this year has been better than any previous year,” Petrie says. “Woodburn has had an interesting time. Ahead of the Dundee United game, he had one assist, so, on paper maybe it didn’t look the best. But I think it was pretty clear to most Hearts fans that he is a bit of a cut above what they have been used to over the last couple of seasons in terms of his quality on the ball.
“He has been playing more out wide in manager Robbie Neilson’s system. Then, against Dundee, he was more central. He and Josh Ginnelly rotated between being the out and out No 9 and on the wing. It worked for him as he got his first goal and his second. His first was rather fortuitous, then his second was a lovely bit of skill to beat one of the best goalkeepers in this country. Hearts fans are fairly happy with him but will be hoping there is more to come and that he can add to his goals and assists tally.
“He is quite central to how well Hearts will end up doing this season. If he kicks on and scores 10 or 12 goals that will be an absolutely massive boost to Hearts. He is clearly just a fantastically talented player with the ball at his feet and Hearts fans have been getting really excited about that.”
Leighton Clarkson, Blackburn Rovers
It made perfect sense to loan Leighton Clarkson out to his boyhood club Blackburn Rovers. Especially when given the joy Harvey Elliott had under the tutelage of manager Tony Mowbray at Ewood Park in 2020-21. But defensive midfielder Clarkson has struggled to put the same stamp on the team.
“He has struggled to make it into the midfield three,” Daniel Ainsworth, who produces content for fan site Roverschat, says. “The only time he has really got in is as a false nine. He just doesn’t suit that. Lewis Travis is in his position and one of the first names on the team sheets. The other two are John Buckley and Joe Rankin-Costello. That’s the set midfield. The only game I can recall Clarkson playing in central midfield, he got an assist.
Leighton Clarkson playing for Blackburn this season (Photo: Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images)
“His assist was against West Brom at home he played a good ball with the outside of his foot around the back of the defence and Ben Brereton Diaz scored. It was a really good pass but he has struggled to get in since. It might work out for him but he needs someone to be injured or suspended to really get a chance. Fans have taken to him well. With him being a Blackburn fan, he’s had a bit more backing than most loanees would.
“We get a lot of loanees impressing quite quickly and getting in the side but Clarkson has struggled. He is on the backfoot now and is not going to displace anyone in that midfield. I wouldn’t be surprised if he went back in January. We need a few players and we will want to make the most of the loan spots. Unless you come in and do what Harvey Elliott did it’s quite hard to argue to play him every week. Last season we played a lot more passing football and this year we are a bit more direct and it doesn’t suit him.”
By Caoimhe O'Neill Nov 26, 2021
Liverpool currently have 13 players out on loan.
To see how each player is faring, The Athletic have chatted to fans, managers, coaches and players of all 13 clubs to bring you the lowdown.
From an FAI Cup final-bound goalkeeper and player of the season in Vitezslav Jaros to Jakub Ojrzynski, one of the stars of Cymru Premier, who has fans waiting to greet him after every game.
Here’s an on-the-ground perspective of how each loan player is performing.
Ben Davies, Sheffield United
Let’s start with the most senior player out on loan.
Ben Davies has that status due to his age rather than the minutes he has accrued for the Liverpool first team. Since arriving from Preston North End on transfer deadline day in January 2021, the 26-year-old has not played a single minute of competitive football for Jurgen Klopp.
Davies had been brought in alongside Ozan Kabak in a late attempt to offset the disruption caused in the long-term absences of Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip. The central defender failed to have the impact he desired and at the start of this season returned to the Championship on loan with Sheffield United.
Since the deal was announced in August he has featured 12 times helping to keep four clean sheets for United. The Yorkshire club have found their return to the league challenging following Premier League relegation and it this week cost manager Slavisa Jokanovic, who was only appointed six months ago, his job.
Ben Meakin, who is the creator and host of BladesPod, believes Davies has shown glimpses of quality, particularly when passing out from the back, though many United fans remain unconvinced of his physical capabilities.
“He’s a good player. I thought that before he came here and that’s what we are seeing when he has been on the pitch,” Meakin tells The Athletic. “I don’t know how clued in Liverpool fans are to our defence but we have a fantastic centre-back in Jack O’Connell and he has been injured for coming up to two years now. O’Connell was tremendous in his first season in the Premier League then he got injured and we have massively struggled to replace him ever since.
“Davies was a player I really wanted us to sign when we were still in the Premier League but he went to Liverpool instead. He is a solid enough defender at Championship level. He is a really good passer which is something the players we have tried to replace O’Connell with have not been good enough at. Slavisa Jokanovic obviously wanted to build out from the back and Davies is just a big step up from anyone else in doing that. We have already seen a couple of times this season he has played a 40-yard pass straight into attack and that leads to a good chance or a goal.
“We need a more physical defender back there but that is more down to the other pieces around him… our defence is such a mess at the moment,” Meakin continues. “We have had four different goalkeepers in our first few games for various reasons such as Aaron Ramsdale leaving. The pieces around Davies have kept changing. We do need someone who is more physically imposing back there. But I do see that as more of a responsibility on the other players because the pluses Davies brings like being able to play it out from the back are so positive.
“He has not solved our defensive woes and a section of our fanbase have been a bit disappointed with him. Maybe they were hoping he would be something that he is not. I knew his strengths and weaknesses from his time at Preston and I’m a fan of him. I’d still like him to be around next season if that is at all feasible.”
Sepp van den Berg, Preston North End
As part of the deal to bring Davies to Liverpool in January, fellow defender Sepp van den Berg went the other way.
The Netherlands youth international, who is a centre-back by trade, impressed during his 16 appearances with Preston in the Championship.
Preston manager Frankie McAvoy was “absolutely delighted” when Liverpool allowed Van den Berg to return on loan this season.
“He quickly became a fan favourite last season,” says Jake Oates, who hosts the From the Finney podcast as well as working as a journalist for Lancs Live. “Bringing him back was a no brainer from the club and great for the fans. We brought him in at centre-back but he cemented a place at right wing-back. He is now one of the first names on the teamsheet. The fans love him.
“It was a shrewd move from the manager to put him in at right-back last season, he’s a big lad but very slight and athletic. North End fans wondered whether he would hold up to the rigours of Championship football looking at his frame. But then he started playing on the right and his athletic capability shone through. In the last few games he has been playing as a right-sided centre-back and he has shown us he can do it. He has just consistently hit a certain level and has been a seven or eight out of ten most weeks.
“Off the pitch, his best qualities are his humour and enthusiasm definitely. On the pitch, it is his versatility. He has played at right-back, right-wing-back, at centre-half in a back five, four and three. That will stand him in good stead for the rest of his career. He’s got some engine on him the way he gets up and down the pitch — he is no slouch. Frankie has had nothing but good things to say about him and the fact he keeps picking him in all those different positions speaks volumes.”
After defeat against local rivals Blackpool last month, Van den Berg, who has been a mainstay for Preston having played 23 times in all competitions, applauded the fans for their support.
“It takes guts for a young lad to do that when some of our more senior players went straight down the tunnel,” Oates adds. “It is little things like that which have endeared him to the fans. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up winning our player or young player of the season.”
Rhys Williams, Swansea City
Another central defender out on loan is Rhys Williams.
The 20-year-old was crucial to helping Liverpool recover in the final months of the 2020-21 season as they claimed a Champions League qualification spot.
Williams, who was loaned to Swansea on deadline day, has not had the best experience so far and has featured just four times in all competitions. But even given his lack of regular minutes for the Championship club, manager Russell Martin believes he will go back to Liverpool better for it.
“It’s football,” Martin said recently. “There’ll come a point where he gets the chance to be involved on the pitch again and then he has to take it. All he can do now is focus on being present every day, training as well as he can and supporting his team-mates then waiting for his opportunity. It’s not easy to leave these guys out, but the guys in front of him are playing exceptionally well.”
Steve Carroll, who features on the Swansea Oh Swansea podcast, helps assess his time at the club so far.
“He started the game against Hull and then at Luton where there was that unfortunate incident where he was racially abused. That game in general was a poor game for Swansea, who were 3-0 down at half-time. Nobody was playing well,” Carroll explains. “The manager made three subs at the break and Rhys was one of them. Then it just so happened we came back 3-3 after that.
“I’m not sure he was taken off to do with the incident which happened or it was just a case of the manager deciding he was one of the ones to come off. That game I am looking at as a bit of a turning point in the wrong direction for Rhys. He has been unlucky. With Swansea’s back three, two of the players playing at centre-half are converted full-backs. They have done well. He has been unlucky in the sense that sometimes if the team is doing well it is difficult to get back in the side. If there is a suspension or injury it might be the case that he comes in and does well and he might be up and running again. But at the moment the season has just gone against him, unfortunately.
“Kyle Naughton, Ryan Bennett and Ryan Manning are the three centre-halves playing regularly. I’d say Ben Cabango is next in line if there is an injury or suspension and then Rhys. He is the second back-up really, which isn’t a great position to be in. There hasn’t been a lot of squad rotation from the manager either, he has found a settled team. It is just one of those things that hasn’t worked out yet.
“The defence have been doing really well so there has been no massive clamour from the fans for Rhys to come in. I do think everyone would like to see more of him so they could form that opinion. But there hasn’t been that opportunity. The Championship is a brutal league as there are a lot of games. The Christmas period has more games as well so there could be a chance for him.”
Sheyi Ojo, Millwall
Sheyi Ojo is on a season-long loan at Millwall and has appeared 11 times in the Championship. The left-winger, who is now 24, will see his contract at Liverpool expire next summer having joined the club’s academy in 2011 from MK Dons.
Millwall assistant manager Adam Barrett gives The Athletic his thoughts on Ojo’s start to life at The Den.
“Sheyi is a really good lad,” he says. “He has got a nice way about him. He has integrated himself into the group really well. He works hard and he has got great ability. The challenge now for Sheyi is finding that consistency. It is about making his ability really count in the final third a little bit more.
“We have been really pleased with him and his work ethic. Hopefully, he is going to be an important player for us this season. We aren’t a team of superstars, everyone has to put a shift in and he’s understanding how we want to play and he is applying himself every day in training to get the best out of himself. He has been a delight to work with. He takes in what the staff and management team want and has been a good asset for the squad so far.
“He’s a quiet lad who just goes about his business. He is someone who wants to learn and wants to get better. He is popular among the other players. He has fitted in seamlessly and settled in well. He has shown glimpses of what he can do but I think there is more to come from him. Hopefully, the supporters will see this season what a talent he is. He can change a game and can produce something out of nothing — it is just about finding that on a more regular basis.”
Ben Woodburn, Hearts
After featuring on the bench against Norwich City on the opening day of the Premier League season, Ben Woodburn was loaned out to Hearts of the Scottish Premiership.
Woodburn, whose contract at Liverpool will expire next summer, has played 11 games for Hearts who sit third in the table.
It is the 22-year-old’s fourth loan spell following time at Sheffield United, Oxford United and more recently Blackpool.
Andrew Petrie is a freelance commentator who covers Scottish football for BBC Sport Scotland and has kept a close eye on the Wales international’s progress.
“When Hearts first got linked with him I was pleasantly surprised. Hearts’ recruitment this year has been better than any previous year,” Petrie says. “Woodburn has had an interesting time. Ahead of the Dundee United game, he had one assist, so, on paper maybe it didn’t look the best. But I think it was pretty clear to most Hearts fans that he is a bit of a cut above what they have been used to over the last couple of seasons in terms of his quality on the ball.
“He has been playing more out wide in manager Robbie Neilson’s system. Then, against Dundee, he was more central. He and Josh Ginnelly rotated between being the out and out No 9 and on the wing. It worked for him as he got his first goal and his second. His first was rather fortuitous, then his second was a lovely bit of skill to beat one of the best goalkeepers in this country. Hearts fans are fairly happy with him but will be hoping there is more to come and that he can add to his goals and assists tally.
“He is quite central to how well Hearts will end up doing this season. If he kicks on and scores 10 or 12 goals that will be an absolutely massive boost to Hearts. He is clearly just a fantastically talented player with the ball at his feet and Hearts fans have been getting really excited about that.”
Leighton Clarkson, Blackburn Rovers
It made perfect sense to loan Leighton Clarkson out to his boyhood club Blackburn Rovers. Especially when given the joy Harvey Elliott had under the tutelage of manager Tony Mowbray at Ewood Park in 2020-21. But defensive midfielder Clarkson has struggled to put the same stamp on the team.
“He has struggled to make it into the midfield three,” Daniel Ainsworth, who produces content for fan site Roverschat, says. “The only time he has really got in is as a false nine. He just doesn’t suit that. Lewis Travis is in his position and one of the first names on the team sheets. The other two are John Buckley and Joe Rankin-Costello. That’s the set midfield. The only game I can recall Clarkson playing in central midfield, he got an assist.
Leighton Clarkson playing for Blackburn this season (Photo: Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images)
“His assist was against West Brom at home he played a good ball with the outside of his foot around the back of the defence and Ben Brereton Diaz scored. It was a really good pass but he has struggled to get in since. It might work out for him but he needs someone to be injured or suspended to really get a chance. Fans have taken to him well. With him being a Blackburn fan, he’s had a bit more backing than most loanees would.
“We get a lot of loanees impressing quite quickly and getting in the side but Clarkson has struggled. He is on the backfoot now and is not going to displace anyone in that midfield. I wouldn’t be surprised if he went back in January. We need a few players and we will want to make the most of the loan spots. Unless you come in and do what Harvey Elliott did it’s quite hard to argue to play him every week. Last season we played a lot more passing football and this year we are a bit more direct and it doesn’t suit him.”
Jake Cain, Newport County
Clarkson’s academy midfield partner Jake Cain is also out on loan. The 20-year-old is playing for Newport County in League Two.
Jamie Harris of Newport fan podcast 1912 Exiles relays how Cain’s fortunes have picked up in recent games under the Welsh club’s new manager James Rowberry.
“He’s not featured too much,” Harris says. “When he came in at the end of August he had a couple of games but then got frozen out. But since Michael Flynn left at the end of September he is now getting more game time.
“He’s got a good eye for finding pockets of space. He can find little gaps in those advanced spaces in between defenders and has set up some goals doing that. He has a good pass on him and despite him being small in stature he’s really strong on the ball. It’s looking good.
“What we have been doing is playing a diamond or sometimes a midfield three and he has been box-to-box in both of those formations. We are playing with quite a few young payers in midfield. They are all looking really good and linking up quite well.
“The jury is probably out a little bit on him only because he has not had that many opportunities. In the first three games of the new manager, we have won all three. Cain has played 90 minutes of the first two and came on in the last one in a tough away game at Hartlepool. It is not like he is running the games himself but he is part of the team and not being carried despite this being his first experience in league football.
“We have had some really promising young players come through here on loan — Ben White (the defender Arsenal bought from Brighton for £50 million this summer) spent a year here (in 2017-18) and you could tell he added physical and positional attributes to his game in that time and has gone on to play for England.”
Paul Glatzel, Tranmere Rovers
For Paul Glatzel, making the move to Tranmere Rovers made geographical sense, with the Birkenhead club situated on the other side of the River Mersey to Liverpool’s academy. Prenton Park is also the ground where he suffered an ACL injury during a pre-season friendly in July 2019. On Tuesday night, he scored the winner for Tranmere against Bradford on the very pitch where he sustained an injury that stalled his progress.
“It was always going to be hard for Paul coming out of underage football and off the back of two serious injuries,” Tranmere defender Peter Clarke tells The Athletic. “I always knew it was going to take him a while to get used to the rigours and demands of playing regular League Two football.
“Paul has got undoubted quality. He is just getting used to the way we play as a team which is slightly different to the football education he has had at Liverpool. Hopefully, we are going to start to see the best of him from now on and until the end of the season. He has scored some goals recently and I am sure that is going to help his confidence. Sometimes the runs he is making go unrewarded but he is doing the right things.
“It was great for him to get his first league goal, which helped us get a really good draw down at Bristol Rovers, and his second league goal helped us get the win against Bradford. The staff and the players have been delighted for him.
“He is still finding his feet but he has found them a little more than he had six weeks ago. It’s never easy but he is a fantastic young man and from minute one he bought into everything going on at Tranmere and wants to do the utmost for Tranmere although he’s a Liverpool player. Some loan players don’t have that work ethic. But with Paul, it is a different story — he wants to do well. Things are starting to fall into place for him.”
Jakub Ojrzynski, Caernarfon Town
Known as “Kuba”, Jakub Ojrzynski is enjoying his time with Caernarfon Town in the Cymru Premier League — the top tier of Welsh club football.
The club’s goalkeeping coach Kevin Sheret has been amazed by the 18-year-old’s ability.
“He is getting on great,” Sheret says. “The biggest thing for me is how down to earth he is and how willing he is to learn. He is so professional and so relaxed at the same time. Being the age he is, coming into the Cymru Premier is tough. You are playing against seasoned veterans and ex-professionals. The way that he has applied himself has been great, to be honest.
“The games he has been involved in he has always had a say in the way that the game has gone. He has always produced top saves. Even in games that we have lost, he has kept us in the game.
“He is the best I have ever worked with and all of that is down to the way he applies himself. He is open to criticism. I have just got off the phone to him now, about analysis. It is great that we have been able to get someone of that calibre into the club.
“The fans have been amazing with him,” he continues. “It has been brilliant. There are queues of fans lining up to get pictures with him. I don’t think I have ever seen that in the Cymru league before. He gets that at the away games as well. He goes around every single person who has stayed behind and has a conversation with them. That’s the best quality he has.
“He has never turned up in any Liverpool gear either. He has been like, ‘No, I am here to do a job for Caernarfon’. The way he has embraced the club has been great,” Sheret adds. “He trains with Liverpool every day. That’s the agreement so he gets that contact. After games, we send them clips so they have their analysis of him. The next step for me is to teach him a little bit of Welsh. He does know a few words,” the goalkeeper coach laughs.
“We were on a trip down south and on their way back everyone had to do their initiation song. We asked Kuba to do it and he just got up with no hesitation and blasted out a song in Czech — it was brilliant and the lads loved it. He gets on with everyone. He treats everyone the same, whether that be the chairman, the gaffer, the fans or someone who makes him a brew — he is just so humble.”
Adam Lewis, Livingston
Left-back Adam Lewis is on loan at Livingston but currently undergoing rehab back at Liverpool after he broke a metatarsal during a training session in September, which ruled him out for three months.
Livingston manager David Martindale gives his thoughts on the 22-year-old’s difficult, stop-start to life in the Scottish Premiership.
“Adam came in with an ankle injury initially, so he missed a lot of pre-season,” Martindale says. “Then he came back and got another injury on his other ankle. You can see he is a top-quality footballer with a fantastic left foot. He came in and played in some big games for Livingston. He has been unfortunate with injuries and I think that all stems from not having a proper pre-season.
“He’s a very versatile player he can play two or three positions. He’s very good on the ball. He’s a really likeable young man and you want him to do well in his football career because he has got the talent. I could do with him now, to be honest — I wouldn’t mind a fit Adam Lewis to pick from.
“His standout quality is his vision. On that left foot, he can play a five-yard pass or a 50-yard pass. He’s got a wee bit of everything in his locker. He’s very good at set plays and is very creative in his passing vision.
“He is very open and receptive to coaching. He is a decent lad from a working-class background like myself so I get on well with Adam. He’s really humble. He wants to understand what you are telling him and looks to take that info on. If he doesn’t understand he will come and ask for you to go into more detail.”
“When he does play the fans like him, they can see the quality he brings. I am looking forward to getting him back. I would like to see him play five, ten games on the bounce. I think he would kick on. He’s a very good footballer but if we can get that continuity under his belt and repetition of games every week I think he’ll be in a good place.
“He is a player who we would love to get permanently,” Martindale concludes. “I think he sees his career in England if I’m honest. But would love him back at Livingston next year if at all possible.”
Luis Longstaff, Queen’s Park
Luis Longstaff is another player based in Scotland for the 2021-22 campaign. The 20-year-old winger, who joined Liverpool’s academy from Newcastle United in 2015, has played 11 times for Glasgow club Queen’s Park — one of Andrew Robertson’s former sides — in the Scottish third division.
“He’s a hungry, young player who been a real treat to work with,” Queen’s Park manager Laurie Ellis tells The Athletic. “He is a great professional and very respectful of our club and environment. Luis gives his absolute best in training every day. He is in a competitive squad so he has had to fight for a place in the team and he has given his best when he gets the opportunity on the pitch.
“He’s a lovely lad. He’s quiet and unassuming but there’s a determination in him to keep improving. Luis might have hoped for more regular game time but when he’s stepped in he’s done well. He’s a credit to Liverpool and the club in the way that he applies himself.
“We’ve played him mainly on the right wing, coming in on his good left foot. He has also had a bit of game time up top. He’s got a good left foot and a good engine and gets into good positions so we enjoy having him in the squad.
“When it comes to picking the team, Luis is in my thoughts every week as are all of our attackers. My position is I can only pick 11 and when he’s been selected or come on he has given his best and I can’t argue with that. Luis is a tricky player he likes to get on the ball. He’s attack-minded. His sole intention is to get up the park and fans love that kind of player.
“He was staying in a hotel for a bit longer than we thought… The way he dealt with that period was a testament to his character and professionalism.”
Anderson Arroyo, Mirandes
Colombia youth international Anderson Arroyo is 17 games into a season-long loan with Spanish outfit Mirandes.
The 22-year-old defender joined Liverpool in 2018 from Fortaleza in his homeland and has been loaned out on five occasions since. His latest loan, which is a return to Spain after his inaugural loan at Real Mallorca three seasons ago, is going well.
“We are in the (second tier) Segunda Division and the level of competition is very high,” Mirandes boss Lolo Escobar explains to The Athletic. “Anderson is a player who has very good physical and technical qualities.
“Maybe more improvement will come when he understands all the tactical aspects of the game. But he is a player with many qualities. His best quality is probably his velocity. He’s very fast. For us, Anderson plays as a central defender but he can also play as a right-back.
“He is very good with his right foot but he is also good on his left as well. He’s very skilful and has a very good attitude. Since the beginning of the season, he has evolved a lot. He plays with a good attitude and I think Anderson is learning a lot in this division because it is very tactical and competitive.”
Vitezslav Jaros, St Patrick’s Athletic
On Sunday, Liverpool academy goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros will have the chance to win the FAI Cup with St Patrick’s Athletic after a phenomenal season in Dublin, where he helped the club finish as runners-up in the League of Ireland Premier Division.
“He has been absolutely magnificent,” St Patrick’s fan Sean Meehan says excitedly about the Czech Republic youth international. “I speak for all St Pat’s fans in saying he has far outweighed the expectations we had at the start of the season. When he came in we were panicked as we had no goalkeeper bar our academy keeper, Josh Keeley.
“Our previous player of the year from 2019 and 2020, Brendan Clarke, was a goalkeeper and he left last season. Clarkey was a fan favourite, he was a St Pat’s fan himself and had come through the club way back in the mid-2000s.
“That’s what Jaros was coming into and you never really know with young goalkeepers how they are going to go whether they’ll embrace men’s football or they will falter under the pressure. We found out in the first game of the season against our rivals Shamrock Rovers that he was more than up to it. Since then he has gone from strength to strength and has been an absolute revelation.
“We heard a lot about his distribution before we ever watched him play and that just came to the fore straight away. He was just pinging 60-yard balls straight to the feet of wingers like it was nothing to him. He was so nonchalant. As the season has gone on his shot-stopping and decision making has got much better,” Meehan continues. “One of the frailties of his game at the start of the season was that he wouldn’t be as commanding as you would like. But now he is coming out and dealing with crosses. He commanded his backline almost immediately as well which I didn’t think he would do as a 19-year-old.
“One thing is for sure is that we all want to keep him, even though we all know falling in love with loan players can only ever bring heartache.
“Our most vocal fans, the Shed End Invincibles (SEI) are probably the reason he won our Player of the Year award, his chant reverberates around Richmond Park more than any other when he plays. It’s to the tune of Live Is Life by Opus so it’s a definite earworm. That chant plus repeated shouts of ‘Jaros Laaaa’ are all ways the SEI showcase their affection for him.
“We’ll miss him, that’s for sure.”
Clarkson’s academy midfield partner Jake Cain is also out on loan. The 20-year-old is playing for Newport County in League Two.
Jamie Harris of Newport fan podcast 1912 Exiles relays how Cain’s fortunes have picked up in recent games under the Welsh club’s new manager James Rowberry.
“He’s not featured too much,” Harris says. “When he came in at the end of August he had a couple of games but then got frozen out. But since Michael Flynn left at the end of September he is now getting more game time.
“He’s got a good eye for finding pockets of space. He can find little gaps in those advanced spaces in between defenders and has set up some goals doing that. He has a good pass on him and despite him being small in stature he’s really strong on the ball. It’s looking good.
“What we have been doing is playing a diamond or sometimes a midfield three and he has been box-to-box in both of those formations. We are playing with quite a few young payers in midfield. They are all looking really good and linking up quite well.
“The jury is probably out a little bit on him only because he has not had that many opportunities. In the first three games of the new manager, we have won all three. Cain has played 90 minutes of the first two and came on in the last one in a tough away game at Hartlepool. It is not like he is running the games himself but he is part of the team and not being carried despite this being his first experience in league football.
“We have had some really promising young players come through here on loan — Ben White (the defender Arsenal bought from Brighton for £50 million this summer) spent a year here (in 2017-18) and you could tell he added physical and positional attributes to his game in that time and has gone on to play for England.”
Paul Glatzel, Tranmere Rovers
For Paul Glatzel, making the move to Tranmere Rovers made geographical sense, with the Birkenhead club situated on the other side of the River Mersey to Liverpool’s academy. Prenton Park is also the ground where he suffered an ACL injury during a pre-season friendly in July 2019. On Tuesday night, he scored the winner for Tranmere against Bradford on the very pitch where he sustained an injury that stalled his progress.
“It was always going to be hard for Paul coming out of underage football and off the back of two serious injuries,” Tranmere defender Peter Clarke tells The Athletic. “I always knew it was going to take him a while to get used to the rigours and demands of playing regular League Two football.
“Paul has got undoubted quality. He is just getting used to the way we play as a team which is slightly different to the football education he has had at Liverpool. Hopefully, we are going to start to see the best of him from now on and until the end of the season. He has scored some goals recently and I am sure that is going to help his confidence. Sometimes the runs he is making go unrewarded but he is doing the right things.
“It was great for him to get his first league goal, which helped us get a really good draw down at Bristol Rovers, and his second league goal helped us get the win against Bradford. The staff and the players have been delighted for him.
“He is still finding his feet but he has found them a little more than he had six weeks ago. It’s never easy but he is a fantastic young man and from minute one he bought into everything going on at Tranmere and wants to do the utmost for Tranmere although he’s a Liverpool player. Some loan players don’t have that work ethic. But with Paul, it is a different story — he wants to do well. Things are starting to fall into place for him.”
Jakub Ojrzynski, Caernarfon Town
Known as “Kuba”, Jakub Ojrzynski is enjoying his time with Caernarfon Town in the Cymru Premier League — the top tier of Welsh club football.
The club’s goalkeeping coach Kevin Sheret has been amazed by the 18-year-old’s ability.
“He is getting on great,” Sheret says. “The biggest thing for me is how down to earth he is and how willing he is to learn. He is so professional and so relaxed at the same time. Being the age he is, coming into the Cymru Premier is tough. You are playing against seasoned veterans and ex-professionals. The way that he has applied himself has been great, to be honest.
“The games he has been involved in he has always had a say in the way that the game has gone. He has always produced top saves. Even in games that we have lost, he has kept us in the game.
“He is the best I have ever worked with and all of that is down to the way he applies himself. He is open to criticism. I have just got off the phone to him now, about analysis. It is great that we have been able to get someone of that calibre into the club.
“The fans have been amazing with him,” he continues. “It has been brilliant. There are queues of fans lining up to get pictures with him. I don’t think I have ever seen that in the Cymru league before. He gets that at the away games as well. He goes around every single person who has stayed behind and has a conversation with them. That’s the best quality he has.
“He has never turned up in any Liverpool gear either. He has been like, ‘No, I am here to do a job for Caernarfon’. The way he has embraced the club has been great,” Sheret adds. “He trains with Liverpool every day. That’s the agreement so he gets that contact. After games, we send them clips so they have their analysis of him. The next step for me is to teach him a little bit of Welsh. He does know a few words,” the goalkeeper coach laughs.
“We were on a trip down south and on their way back everyone had to do their initiation song. We asked Kuba to do it and he just got up with no hesitation and blasted out a song in Czech — it was brilliant and the lads loved it. He gets on with everyone. He treats everyone the same, whether that be the chairman, the gaffer, the fans or someone who makes him a brew — he is just so humble.”
Adam Lewis, Livingston
Left-back Adam Lewis is on loan at Livingston but currently undergoing rehab back at Liverpool after he broke a metatarsal during a training session in September, which ruled him out for three months.
Livingston manager David Martindale gives his thoughts on the 22-year-old’s difficult, stop-start to life in the Scottish Premiership.
“Adam came in with an ankle injury initially, so he missed a lot of pre-season,” Martindale says. “Then he came back and got another injury on his other ankle. You can see he is a top-quality footballer with a fantastic left foot. He came in and played in some big games for Livingston. He has been unfortunate with injuries and I think that all stems from not having a proper pre-season.
“He’s a very versatile player he can play two or three positions. He’s very good on the ball. He’s a really likeable young man and you want him to do well in his football career because he has got the talent. I could do with him now, to be honest — I wouldn’t mind a fit Adam Lewis to pick from.
“His standout quality is his vision. On that left foot, he can play a five-yard pass or a 50-yard pass. He’s got a wee bit of everything in his locker. He’s very good at set plays and is very creative in his passing vision.
“He is very open and receptive to coaching. He is a decent lad from a working-class background like myself so I get on well with Adam. He’s really humble. He wants to understand what you are telling him and looks to take that info on. If he doesn’t understand he will come and ask for you to go into more detail.”
“When he does play the fans like him, they can see the quality he brings. I am looking forward to getting him back. I would like to see him play five, ten games on the bounce. I think he would kick on. He’s a very good footballer but if we can get that continuity under his belt and repetition of games every week I think he’ll be in a good place.
“He is a player who we would love to get permanently,” Martindale concludes. “I think he sees his career in England if I’m honest. But would love him back at Livingston next year if at all possible.”
Luis Longstaff, Queen’s Park
Luis Longstaff is another player based in Scotland for the 2021-22 campaign. The 20-year-old winger, who joined Liverpool’s academy from Newcastle United in 2015, has played 11 times for Glasgow club Queen’s Park — one of Andrew Robertson’s former sides — in the Scottish third division.
“He’s a hungry, young player who been a real treat to work with,” Queen’s Park manager Laurie Ellis tells The Athletic. “He is a great professional and very respectful of our club and environment. Luis gives his absolute best in training every day. He is in a competitive squad so he has had to fight for a place in the team and he has given his best when he gets the opportunity on the pitch.
“He’s a lovely lad. He’s quiet and unassuming but there’s a determination in him to keep improving. Luis might have hoped for more regular game time but when he’s stepped in he’s done well. He’s a credit to Liverpool and the club in the way that he applies himself.
“We’ve played him mainly on the right wing, coming in on his good left foot. He has also had a bit of game time up top. He’s got a good left foot and a good engine and gets into good positions so we enjoy having him in the squad.
“When it comes to picking the team, Luis is in my thoughts every week as are all of our attackers. My position is I can only pick 11 and when he’s been selected or come on he has given his best and I can’t argue with that. Luis is a tricky player he likes to get on the ball. He’s attack-minded. His sole intention is to get up the park and fans love that kind of player.
“He was staying in a hotel for a bit longer than we thought… The way he dealt with that period was a testament to his character and professionalism.”
Anderson Arroyo, Mirandes
Colombia youth international Anderson Arroyo is 17 games into a season-long loan with Spanish outfit Mirandes.
The 22-year-old defender joined Liverpool in 2018 from Fortaleza in his homeland and has been loaned out on five occasions since. His latest loan, which is a return to Spain after his inaugural loan at Real Mallorca three seasons ago, is going well.
“We are in the (second tier) Segunda Division and the level of competition is very high,” Mirandes boss Lolo Escobar explains to The Athletic. “Anderson is a player who has very good physical and technical qualities.
“Maybe more improvement will come when he understands all the tactical aspects of the game. But he is a player with many qualities. His best quality is probably his velocity. He’s very fast. For us, Anderson plays as a central defender but he can also play as a right-back.
“He is very good with his right foot but he is also good on his left as well. He’s very skilful and has a very good attitude. Since the beginning of the season, he has evolved a lot. He plays with a good attitude and I think Anderson is learning a lot in this division because it is very tactical and competitive.”
Vitezslav Jaros, St Patrick’s Athletic
On Sunday, Liverpool academy goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros will have the chance to win the FAI Cup with St Patrick’s Athletic after a phenomenal season in Dublin, where he helped the club finish as runners-up in the League of Ireland Premier Division.
“He has been absolutely magnificent,” St Patrick’s fan Sean Meehan says excitedly about the Czech Republic youth international. “I speak for all St Pat’s fans in saying he has far outweighed the expectations we had at the start of the season. When he came in we were panicked as we had no goalkeeper bar our academy keeper, Josh Keeley.
“Our previous player of the year from 2019 and 2020, Brendan Clarke, was a goalkeeper and he left last season. Clarkey was a fan favourite, he was a St Pat’s fan himself and had come through the club way back in the mid-2000s.
“That’s what Jaros was coming into and you never really know with young goalkeepers how they are going to go whether they’ll embrace men’s football or they will falter under the pressure. We found out in the first game of the season against our rivals Shamrock Rovers that he was more than up to it. Since then he has gone from strength to strength and has been an absolute revelation.
“We heard a lot about his distribution before we ever watched him play and that just came to the fore straight away. He was just pinging 60-yard balls straight to the feet of wingers like it was nothing to him. He was so nonchalant. As the season has gone on his shot-stopping and decision making has got much better,” Meehan continues. “One of the frailties of his game at the start of the season was that he wouldn’t be as commanding as you would like. But now he is coming out and dealing with crosses. He commanded his backline almost immediately as well which I didn’t think he would do as a 19-year-old.
“One thing is for sure is that we all want to keep him, even though we all know falling in love with loan players can only ever bring heartache.
“Our most vocal fans, the Shed End Invincibles (SEI) are probably the reason he won our Player of the Year award, his chant reverberates around Richmond Park more than any other when he plays. It’s to the tune of Live Is Life by Opus so it’s a definite earworm. That chant plus repeated shouts of ‘Jaros Laaaa’ are all ways the SEI showcase their affection for him.
“We’ll miss him, that’s for sure.”
[article]St Patrick's Athletic coach Stephen O'Donnell was full of praise for goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros after their FAI Cup final defeat of Bohemians.
Czech Republic U-21 cap Jaros is on loan to the Saints from Liverpool, as the Reds had scouts at the final in the Aviva to check on his form, and while that could be his last game for the Dublin club as his loan spell is up, O'Donnell praised his impact.
"It's plain to see that he will play at a higher level," O'Donnell said of Jaros after the Cup final win.
"He's only 20. He's brilliant, you saw today, I've played with a few good keepers across channel who had come on loan to Scotland, he's the best 20 year old I've ever come across or been involved with regards football, as a goalkeeper. He makes big saves, he's so composed, the occasion doesn't get to him. If you didn't know his age you would think he was 27 or 28. He thinks like a man, acts like a man and he's just a brilliant keeper."[/article]
Czech Republic U-21 cap Jaros is on loan to the Saints from Liverpool, as the Reds had scouts at the final in the Aviva to check on his form, and while that could be his last game for the Dublin club as his loan spell is up, O'Donnell praised his impact.
"It's plain to see that he will play at a higher level," O'Donnell said of Jaros after the Cup final win.
"He's only 20. He's brilliant, you saw today, I've played with a few good keepers across channel who had come on loan to Scotland, he's the best 20 year old I've ever come across or been involved with regards football, as a goalkeeper. He makes big saves, he's so composed, the occasion doesn't get to him. If you didn't know his age you would think he was 27 or 28. He thinks like a man, acts like a man and he's just a brilliant keeper."[/article]
Ben Woodburn netted his fourth goal of the season for Hearts in their 2-1 victory against Ross County yesterday.
@1:43
@1:43
Why do we always fail in making loan moves work? 😴
[article]Leighton Clarkson has had his loan cut short at Blackburn Rovers and returned to Liverpool, Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray has confirmed.
Clarkson has made just seven appearances during his time at boyhood club Rovers after arriving from the Premier League club.
However, with the January loan window now open, a break clause has been activated that will see the midfielder go back to the Reds.
Mowbray praised Clarkson ’s quality upon his return, but Blackburn’s excellent form led to a lack of opportunities for the midfielder.
After being left out of the squad for the 0-0 draw with Huddersfield Town, Mowbray confirmed to the Lancashire Telegraph : “Leighton is going to go back to Liverpool.
“You talk about Harvey Elliott, he’s got all those qualities, weight of pass, brilliant finishing, an amazing footballer who sees all the pictures, all the patterns.
“Yet he’s come at a time when our team is functioning and he understands.
“He knows football, it’s hurting him because he’s a Rovers fan and I haven’t been able to give him the game-time and he understands that because the team is winning and functioning.
“Who would I be leaving out? Would I be leaving out Buckley, or Rothwell, or Travis? I don’t think so.
“We moved to three at the back so it’s only really two central midfielders because Buckley plays like a false nine.
“The opportunities became less and less and I felt for him because I said he needs to play football, with that talent he needs to play and express it, how fantastic a footballer he is.
“I would assume Liverpool would look for another opportunity for him to go and play, at what level we’ll wait to see.
“Whether there is another Championship team who thinks he can be a regular starter, because that’s what he needs to do and grow into the footballer he’s undoubtedly going to be because he’s very, very talented.”
[/article]
[article]Leighton Clarkson has had his loan cut short at Blackburn Rovers and returned to Liverpool, Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray has confirmed.
Clarkson has made just seven appearances during his time at boyhood club Rovers after arriving from the Premier League club.
However, with the January loan window now open, a break clause has been activated that will see the midfielder go back to the Reds.
Mowbray praised Clarkson ’s quality upon his return, but Blackburn’s excellent form led to a lack of opportunities for the midfielder.
After being left out of the squad for the 0-0 draw with Huddersfield Town, Mowbray confirmed to the Lancashire Telegraph : “Leighton is going to go back to Liverpool.
“You talk about Harvey Elliott, he’s got all those qualities, weight of pass, brilliant finishing, an amazing footballer who sees all the pictures, all the patterns.
“Yet he’s come at a time when our team is functioning and he understands.
“He knows football, it’s hurting him because he’s a Rovers fan and I haven’t been able to give him the game-time and he understands that because the team is winning and functioning.
“Who would I be leaving out? Would I be leaving out Buckley, or Rothwell, or Travis? I don’t think so.
“We moved to three at the back so it’s only really two central midfielders because Buckley plays like a false nine.
“The opportunities became less and less and I felt for him because I said he needs to play football, with that talent he needs to play and express it, how fantastic a footballer he is.
“I would assume Liverpool would look for another opportunity for him to go and play, at what level we’ll wait to see.
“Whether there is another Championship team who thinks he can be a regular starter, because that’s what he needs to do and grow into the footballer he’s undoubtedly going to be because he’s very, very talented.”
[/article]
Sounds like he's been a bit unlucky with this move but generally speaking the unfortunate reality is that most of our kids aren't that good.
yep
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