Liverpool Loan Watch: January 2019

Liverpool Loan Watch: January 2019

Welcome to the sixth part of my series of monthly articles; tracking the progress of Liverpool’s loanees for the 2018/19 season. This is an ongoing series which will hopefully help keep fans up-to-date on how our players are getting on at their temporary homes. It has been a busy month for Liverpool’s loanees, with six players joining clubs on loan in January and three players returning to Melwood. The club now has sixteen players on loan, and this series will follow their campaigns closely, and assess which of the loaned players are likely to have a future at Anfield.

If you missed my December piece, here’s a link: http://fanscorners.com/liverpool-loan-watch-december-2018/

Let’s see how they got on in January…

Loris Karius – Besiktas

Loris Karius has had a good month in Turkey as the second half of Besiktas’ season has begun. He made five saves in a 3-0 win over Akhisar, making five saves to preserve an important clean sheet. Besiktas drew 1-1 with Buyuksehir, with Karius making three saves to deny the away side the win. The German was very unlucky with the goal, a massive deflection taking it past him. The result leaves Besiktas 6^th in the league.

Nathaniel Clyne – Bournemouth

One of the more surprising loan deals of January was established first-teamer Nathaniel Clyne moving to Bournemouth. Clyne has proved his quality, with four consecutive starts upon his move down South. His debut was in a 2-1 defeat against rivals Brighton, a result which saw the Cherries exit the FA Cup. Next up was a very good display in a 2-0 loss to Everton, with Clyne making an impact going both ways. Clyne tasted victory in black and red for the first time with a win over West Ham, but his finest moment of the month was the remarkable 4-0 win over Chelsea. With Simon Francis and Steve Cook out for the foreseeable, it looks like Clyne has made the right back spot his own.

Marko Grujic – Hertha Berlin

Another month has gone by with Marko Grujic’s stock continuing to rise. The Serb made his return from injury in a 3-1 win over Nurnberg, with Grujic putting a good shift in. After the game, Berlin manager Pal Dardai was singing his praises, stating that the acquisition of Grujic was the first time he was able to get a midfield player from the top echelon, rather than shopping on the middle shelf. He responded to this appraisal with an excellent performance in a 2-2 draw, including his second goal for the club, which was scored in style, with Grujic calmly finishing off a counter attack that he started in his own half to put Hertha level in the game. Interestingly, Hertha are now unbeaten in games that Grujic has started this season, a statistic similar to his time at Cardiff, showing his importance to teams. With this level of performance now a regular fixture among Grujic’s game, surely he will be given a chance at Liverpool next season.

Danny Ings – Southampton

Ings has had another month of being in and out of the team due to injury. He was taken off at half time of the hard-fought 0-0 draw at Chelsea with an injury which caused him to miss both games against Derby County in the FA Cup, as well as the league win over Leicester. He returned for the final two league games of the month – a win over Everton and a draw with Crystal Palace. His work rate was admirable in both of these games, but had little end product.

Adam Bogdan – Hibernian

It’s been a difficult month for Adam Bogdan, whose start to 2019 has been halted by an unfortunate injury. Bogdan started the first game of the year, a 4-0 cup win over Elgin City, the Hungarian recording his first clean sheet of the year. However, he was taken off late on in the game with concussion. Bogdan was unable to recover in time to be named in the squads for the subsequent 1-0 loss to Motherwell and 3-1 win over St Mirren, with Ofir Marciano taking his place for these fixtures. It’s been a hectic month for Bogdan’s club Hibernian, with Neil Lennon departing his role as manager late on in January.

Ryan Kent – Rangers

After his marvellous display in the Old Firm derby, Ryan Kent has made a similarly good start to 2019. He made a good start to the Kilmarnock game and was heavily involved in possession throughout the match, though was guilty of giving the ball away which started a counter attack for Killie, one which resulted in their equaliser. He made up for it with a great performance at Livingston, constantly probing the full backs and offering a threat, before doubling Rangers’ lead early in the second half with a thumping finish into the top corner.

Ovie Ejaria – Reading

Following the termination of his loan spell at Rangers, Ovie Ejaria has moved on loan to Reading for the second half of the season. Reading have recently appointed Jose Gomes as manager and results have improved under him so far. Ejaria’s debut was in a 2-0 win over playoff-chasing Nottingham Forest. The former Sunderland loanee played well in the first half but faded in the second. Interestingly, he was deployed on the left of a 4-2-3-1 system, whereas he probably would’ve been expected to play more centrally by most. His second game for the Royals was a 2-1 defeat at Derby County, where Ejaria struggled a bit on the left-hand side, without the pace to beat his man. He was the architect of Reading’s consolation goal, winning the ball back to start the build-up to Sone Aluko’s goal. Reading’s final game of the month was a 1-1 draw with relegation rivals Bolton, though Ejaria was an unused sub in Lancashire.

*these stats are just for his time at Reading and don’t include his spell at Rangers, where he had 23 starts, 5 sub appearances and 3 goals

Sheyi Ojo – Stade de Reims

Over in France, Ojo has managed to get a bit of gametime, particularly in the cup competitions. He started the first game of 2019, a 2-0 win over Lens in the French Cup. Ojo will have been disappointed not to score in this game, especially starting in an advanced position. His performance wasn’t enough to earn him starts in either of the following two league games, making short sub appearances in 1-1 draws with Lyon and Nice. The winger produced probably his best performance for Reims so far in the next round of the cup against Toulouse. Ojo produced two assists in a remarkable 4-4 draw, both good cutbacks setting up equalising goals in an epic game. Unfortunately, Reims were eliminated on penalties without Ojo taking a spot-kick. He was an unused substitute for the 1-0 win over Guingamp at the end of the month.

Harry Wilson – Derby County

It’s been an absolutely superb month for Derby’s Harry Wilson, who has cemented his place as one of the Championship’s star players and hopefully a part of Liverpool’s future. His goal-laden January was kicked off with a great strike in the home fixture with Middlesbrough, taking the ball and rocketing it past Darren Randolph early in the game, which Derby earned a 1-1 draw in, a valuable point against playoff rivals. Sadly, Wilson went off injured during this game and missed the next two games – an FA Cup game with Southampton which ended 2-2, and a hotly-contested game at Elland Road with league leaders Leeds, which the Rams lost 2-0 in controversial circumstances. He returned to the fold for the replay with Southampton at St Mary’s, and was a massive at in Derby’s progression. Lampard’s side were 2-0 down to the Premier League team entering the final stages, but Wilson got his team back in the replay with a great free kick, and then helped level the game by delivering a delightful cross into the box for Martyn Waghorn to equalise. Derby qualified on penalties after Wilson was withdrawn midway through extra time, a phenomenal shift on his first game back from injury. His goal trail continued with another long-range strike against Reading in a 2-1 win and he registered another assist for Duane Holmes’ opener. Derby qualified for the fifth round of the cup with a 1-0 win away at Accrington, a game which saw Wilson produce one of his quieter performances with a few flashes of quality. The Rams were drawn away to West Brom or Brighton in round five, a very winnable tie. January has been a terrific month for Wilson and his form is simply outstanding – if he keeps it up it will be impossible for Liverpool to not use this player.

Pedro Chirivella – Extremadura UD

Spanish midfielder Pedro Chirivella joined Extremadura UD on loan in a deadline day deal. The club, which was only formed 12 years ago, are currently 19^th in the Spanish Segunda Division. Chirivella will look to be a key feature as Extremadura, who are located on the border with Portugal, attempt to prevent relegation. This will be an interesting one to follow as Chirivella is clearly a player with some talent and has been one of the best players for the U23s this season. While a future in the Liverpool first team has looked unlikely for a while now, I feel like his level is better than the second tier of Spanish football.

Kamil Grabara – AGF Aarhus

One of the most intriguing moves in January was young goalkeeper Kamil Grabara moving on loan to Danish side AGF Aarhus, who lie 10^th in the Danish Superliga. The Polish keeper has shown plenty of talent for the U23s and has a lot of promise, which will hopefully be shown during this loan spell. Grabara made his debut in a 1-0 defeat to Czech side Jabonlec in the Atlantic Cup.

Taiwo Awoniyi – Royal Excel Mouscron

Taiwo Awoniyi’s spell at KAA Gent had become stale, with the Nigerian striker having failed to start a game since 7^th October. Given this, it was always likely that his situation would be reviewed by Liverpool in January. Awoniyi’s loan with Gent was cancelled and he was sent to fellow Belgian club Royal Excel Mouscron, who he was on loan with last season. So far, it looks like the familiarity of the club has helped Awoniyi rediscover his form, the striker scoring on both of his appearances in his second spell at the club. He came off the bench in the fixture with Oostende to make his second Mouscron debut and scored the winner in the 68^th minute, after being on the pitch for just two minutes. He followed this up by helping his team to an incredible result, defeating league leaders Genk 2-1 away from home, with Awoniyi scoring the winner again, showing good strength to hold off a defender before slotting under the keeper, earning Mouscron back-to-back wins for the first time since April.

*these stats are just for his time at Royal Excel Mouscron and don’t include his spell at Gent, where he had 10 starts, 12 sub appearances and 3 goals

Allan Rodrigues de Souza – Eintracht Frankfurt

Unfortunately for Allan, it has been another month without any gametime due to injury, the Brazilian midfielder missing out on a 3-1 win over Freiburg and a 2-2 draw with Werder Bremen. Hopefully he will be back to fitness soon and getting more games under his belt as a search for a work permit continues. At the time of writing, there are rumours emerging of Allan’s loan with Eintracht being prematurely terminated, with the player possibly completing the second half of the season in Brazil.

Anderson Arroyo – KAA Gent

Well, another month goes by where Anderson Arroyo hasn’t featured for the Gent first team. While he is making appearances for the U21 side, I am surprised that his situation hasn’t been reviewed this month, given his complete dearth of first team football.

Liam Millar – Kilmarnock

One of Liverpool’s deadline day moves was to send Canadian U23 striker Liam Millar on loan to Scottish Premiership side Kilmarnock. The 19 year old links up with former Liverpool assistant manager Steve Clarke, as the Ayrshire side look to continue their excellent season, and hopefully Millar can have a part to play in the remainder of their campaign, in which they currently lie 3^rd.

Herbie Kane – Doncaster Rovers

While it has not been one of Herbie Kane’s most starry months, he has still been an important part of Doncaster’s good form. He started a 5-0 win over Rochdale and was involved in some of Rovers’ positive play. Donny qualified for the fourth round of the FA Cup with a wonderful 3-2 win away at Championship Preston, with Kane dominating midfield and offering good play both ways. Kane was a little lacklustre as Doncaster surrendered a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 at Wycombe Wanderers, and then missed the 2-2 draw with Burton Albion through injury. Rovers took on Oldham in the next round of the FA Cup, qualifying with a late goal to make the last sixteen – a brilliant achievement for a League One side. Doncaster were drawn at home against Crystal Palace, which will be a good chance for Kane to test himself against Premier League opposition.

Corey Whelan – Crewe Alexandra

Corey Whelan’s half-season loan at Crewe finished with a struggling performance in a 3-1 defeat against high-flying Bury, and the Irishman has now returned to Liverpool. He has made a handful of appearances at right back for the U23 side at Melwood since returning as his fight for a place in the first team continues.

Make sure to check back next month for a report on how our loanees’ February goes!

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Daniel Daykin

A non-biased voice of reason among fellow Liverpool fans. I'll always tell you the truth, no matter how hard you find it to accept. I miss Suarez. A lot.

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