Liverpool Loan Review: August 2018

Welcome to the first part of my new series of monthly articles; tracking the progress of Liverpool’s loanees for the 2018/19 season. This will be an ongoing series which will hopefully help keep fans up-to-date on how our players are getting on at their temporary homes. Liverpool currently have sixteen players on loan, and this series will follow their campaign closely, and assess which of the loaned players are likely to have a future at Anfield. Here’s how they got on in August…

Loris Karius – Besiktas

Liverpool’s German goalkeeper begins his career away from Anfield with a two-year loan to Besiktas. The Turkish club missed out on a place in the Champions League by just one point last season, and so Loris Karius’ new side have ambitions of improving greatly this campaign. Besiktas qualified for the Europa League by defeating Partizan Belgrade in the play-off round this week and were draw in Group I alongside Genk, Malmo FF and Sapsborg. Karius didn’t feature in the qualifier, which was the first game since his arrival and also Besiktas’ last of August.

Marko Grujic – Hertha Berlin

Jurgen Klopp’s first Liverpool signing will be spending the season in Germany with Hertha Berlin, as they try to build on their 10^th placed finish from last season. Grujic, who has been given the number 15 shirt, is linking up with ex-Premier League players Salomon Kalou and Karim Rekik, in a team made up predominantly of German nationals. Berlin played a 3-4-3 formation against FC Nurnberg on Saturday, in which Grujic made his debut as an 88^th minute substitute. Berlin play with attacking wing backs, meaning the central midfielders need to be combative and aggressive, so Grujic should thrive in this environment, and hopefully will be picked to start soon.

Danny Ings – Southampton

Danny Ings joined Premier League side Southampton on a loan deal which will become permanent next season. Ings has hit the ground running at St Mary’s, and the fans are already taking to him. Ings made his debut off the bench against Burnley in a 0-0 draw on opening day, but made a good enough impression to earn two starts in the subsequent two league matches. Ings opened his account for the Saints in the second game of the season away at Everton, cleverly pouncing on a chance presented to him with his right foot from a corner. The striker got his first home start at the weekend as his side were defeated late on by Leicester. Ings played well and impressed the Saints faithful, who were baffled to see him substituted after 70 minutes. Already he has made a good impression and will be key to Southampton’s season.

Adam Bogdan – Hibernian

Liverpool’s Hungarian goalkeeper has endured a mixed start to life in the Scottish capital. He was lauded for a heroic performance in Greece as the shot stopper made a series of saves, including one unbelievable reflex to deny the Greek side a win. The following weekend, Bogdan played the full 90 minutes as Hibernian defeated struggling Motherwell 3-0 and was relatively untested. Unfortunately, Bogdan suffered an injury which kept him out of Hibernian’s home Europa League game with Molde, as well as their first round League Cup match, and their Premiership fixture away at St.Johnstone. Bogdan has had a a difficult time since returning to action, starting in a 3-0 defeat in the second leg against Molde, before making a handling error which led to Aberdeen’s opener in a 1-1 draw at Easter Road.

Ryan Kent – Rangers

The Oldham-born winger was Steven Gerrard’s second loan acquisition from Liverpool and was heavily involved in the month of August. Deployed often on the left of the attacking trident behind the striker in a 4-2-3-1, Kent has produced a series of mixed performances in his first month at the Glasgow club. Kent made his first start of the month in the second leg of Rangers’ Europa League tie with Croatian side Osijek, but this was followed up with only an appearance from the substitutes’ bench in Rangers’ opening Premiership fixture against Aberdeen.

Kent was restored to the starting eleven for the win against Maribor, and kept his place for the first domestic win of the season against St Mirren. This performance in particular drew mixed reviews from the Ibrox faithful and he was subsequently dropped to the bench for the second leg against Maribor, where admittedly the defensive work rate of Daniel Candeias would’ve been preferable as Gerrard’s side successfully defended their 3-1 lead from the first leg. Kent was back in the starting eleven for Rangers’ cup tie with Kilmarnock, where the former Barnsley and Bristol City man produced his best performance to date. Kent produced frustrating performance in both legs of the Europa League play-off tie against FC Ufa, with a place on the bench at Motherwell sandwiched in between. With Jamie Murphy picking up a horrendous injury, Kent will be given plenty of game time and will need to improve the consistency in his performances.

Ovie Ejaria – Rangers

The first man to be loaned out this season was creative midfielder Ovie Ejaria, joining Steven Gerrard’s Rangers. Ejaria’s role has been fluid so far, operating in the midfield two of a 4-1-4-1, as either a sitter or an attacker in a 4-2-3-1, and even in a 4-4-2. This constant switching of position has perhaps contributed to Ejaria struggling in the first few games of the month, with a disappointing start against Osijek resulting in a substitute role against Aberdeen.

Since then, Ejaria has been a mainstay of the team, starting seven consecutive matches, including both legs of Rangers’ success in their tie with Slovenian side Maribor, as well as progress in the League Cup against Kilmarnock. Ejaria’s best performances so far came towards the end of the month. He was particularly impressive in the first leg of the play-off round with FC Ufa, where he dominated the midfield and was key to his side earning a 1-0 win.

The former Sunderland man’s first goal for Rangers came at Fir Park the following Sunday in a 3-3 draw with Motherwell. Just before half time, Ejaria received the ball on the edge of the box and took a neat touch to take him away from the defender, before hitting a shot which was initially saved by Trevor Carson but trickled over the line. The midfielder had soon found the goal touch and doubled his Rangers tally four days later in Russia for the second leg against FC Ufa. Ejaria was again occupying a good position outside the box, and worked himself a great angle to shoot, and unleashed a terrific effort into the opposite corner to give Rangers the lead. Gerrard clearly has a lot of faith in Liverpool’s number 53, as is evident from the amount of gametime he has been getting, and is becoming an important part to the Rangers team.

Sheyi Ojo – Stade de Reims

Liverpool’s young winger’s latest loan takes him out of the country for the first time, as he joins French club Stade de Reims. Reims were promoted from Ligue 2 last season and are looking to enjoy their first season in the top flight. SDR have started really well, with two wins from their first three games, including a victory over Lyon. Ojo’s new club have played 4-2-3-1 so far this season, a formation that Ojo is experienced in, from pre-season with Liverpool. Ojo joined on 30^th August and so didn’t feature in August, but his side have a busy September with Montpellier, PSG and Bordeaux. Here’s hoping that Ojo has a great season in France and comes back ready to be involved in the first team.

Connor Randall – Rochdale

Randall’s third loan spell away from Liverpool comes at League One club Rochdale, with Randall taking a short trip up the M62 for his latest venture. The right back’s side have made a very disappointing start to their League One campaign, losing three of their first five league fixtures, though their three defeats did all come against sides currently in the top five (Peterborough, Barnsley, Walsall). Randall joined Rochdale on 24^th August and was named on the bench for their home defeat to Walsall two days later, though was an unused substitute. Randall started for Rochdale in their Carabao Cup exit to Middlesbrough, and went off injured in the second half.

Ben Woodburn – Sheffield United

One of the most intriguing of Liverpool’s loans is Ben Woodburn to Championship side Sheffield United. It has been a very mixed start to life at the Blades for Woodburn, who made his debut off the bench in the opening day defeat to Swansea, in which he struggled. His second appearance was better, again off the bench against Middlesbrough, where he showed some good moments, but was unfortunate to enter the fray when his team were already 3-0 down.

A win at Loftus Road was next for Chris Wilder’s side, when again Woodburn was used from the bench, and continued the ascent in his performance, with his best display so far. The Welshman’s first start came in the Carabao Cup as Sheffield United were knocked out by fellow Championship team Hull City on penalties. Woodburn was involved in the game heavily, missing a one on one and seeing plenty of the ball, and scoring his penalty in the shootout. He was rewarded for this performance with a first league start at Bramall Lane against Norwich, however he was disappointingly withdrawn at half time.

Woodburn was back to the bench for the Blades’ win against Bolton, where he came on late in the game. So far this loan has not seen the number of starts Liverpool or Woodburn would have liked, but there are some positive signs. Fans of the Yorkshire club tend to feel that Woodburn lacks strength and aggression in the challenge, often finding himself shoved off the ball. Interestingly, he has been deployed as either a number ten or a left-sided attacker.

Harry Wilson – Derby County

Arguably Liverpool’s most exciting player out on loan, the Welsh winger has endured a difficult start to his Derby County career. Frank Lampard has utilised Wilson on the right of his attack and has so far has found himself frustrated. Wilson made his debut on opening night away at Reading and struggled to get involved in his team’s 2-1 win. This was followed with a 4-1 defeat at home to table topping Leeds United, in which Wilson had a nightmare 61 minutes before being replaced by Florian Jozefoon. Wilson was better as Derby defeated Oldham 2-0 in the first round of the Carabao Cup, but since then has been suffering from an injury which has been keeping him out of the team. After a tough start, Derby are now into the play-off places again, so Wilson will be keen to get himself back fit and in the team.

Taiwo Awoniyi – KAA Gent

Nigerian striker Taiwo Awoniyi’s latest loan move sees him join up with Belgian side KAA Gent for the season. His first appearance of August came in a 1-1 draw with Zulte Waregem, in which Awoniyi played 90 minutes. Gent’s Europa League campaign kicked off with an away win at Jagiellonia in which Awoniyi started but failed to complete the 90 minutes, a theme that continued throughout this month. This was the case in his next two league games, though sandwiched in between was his first goal of the season, a header from close range in the second leg of Gent’s tie with Jagiellonia. The number 14 started both legs of Gent’s Europa League exit in the play-off round against Bordeaux, but again, was subbed off in both games. As the lone striker in a 4-2-3-1 system, Awoniyi is sometimes finding himself uninvolved in the games, hence the regularity of his withdrawal from games. While he will be pleased to have got so much game time, he will be looking for a more fruitful month in front of goal in September.

Allan Rodrigues de Souza – Eintracht Frankfurt

Brazilian midfielder Allan Rodrigues de Souza’s efforts to attain a work permit allowing him to play for Liverpool continue with a spell at Eintracht Frankfurt. Allan didn’t make the matchday squad for Frankfurt’s opening day victory away at Freiburg. The box-to-box player will search for opportunities in Bundesliga this season with a view to becoming a first-team player at Liverpool in the near future. Frankfurt were drawn in a tasty-looking Group H of the Europa League, alongside Lazio, Marseille and Apollon Limassol.

Anderson Arroyo – KAA Gent

Colombian U23 defender Anderson Arroyo has been loaned to Belgian side KAA Gent, joining fellow Liverpool loanee Taiwo Awoniyi at De Buffalo’s. The full back is yet to feature for Gent and will be hoping to continue his development after a loan spell earlier this year which saw him make 18 appearances for RCD Mallorca’s reserve side.

Shamal George – Tranmere Rovers

Young goalkeeper Shamal George is spending the first half of this season on loan at Tranmere Rovers. So far, George has failed to displace Scott Davies in league games, with George being on the bench for Tranmere’s first five League Two fixtures. George’s only appearance has come in the Carabao Cup, where Rovers were dumped out of the cup in the first round at home to Midlands side Walsall, by a score of 3-1. George was beaten too easily for the first goal, where his handling was questionable. The second and third goals he was well positioned, but just couldn’t stop the shot. George will need to show a lot more if he is to become Tranmere’s first choice.

Herbie Kane – Doncaster Rovers

This has arguably been the most successful of all our loans so far. The U23 midfielder has proved an instant hit at Doncaster, with fans of the Yorkshire club raving about his performances so far. After being an unused sub at Southend on the first day of the season, Kane has started every league game since. His debut came at home to Wycombe in a 3-0 win, and Doncaster supporters were hugely impressed with his first start, lauding his ball-playing ability and protection of the football. Kane was a starter again at Scunthorpe as Grant McCann’s side progressed in the Carabao Cup.

Kane lasted 59 minutes as Donny were defeated 1-0 by Burton Albion but bounced back with two consecutive 90 minutes against Shrewsbury and Portsmouth. The latter of those two matches resulted in Kane receiving his second man of the match award, in a very respectable 0-0 draw with the promotion-chasing side. Perhaps tellingly, Kane was left out of Doncaster’s squad for their Carabao Cup defeat to Blackpool – he is now such an important part of Rovers’ team that he was rested in the cup, to maintain his fitness for the upcoming league games. After one month at the club, Kane is a fans’ favourite at the Keepmoat Stadium and has helped his team to be sitting just outside the League One play-off places.

Corey Whelan – Crewe Alexandra

The final loan of the window involves U23 captain Corey Whelan making a move on loan to Crewe Alexandra until January. Whelan, who can play as a right back or centre back, was signed from Crewe’s academy, and returns to Gresty Road to join up with their first time for the first half of the season. Whelan was on loan at Yeovil Town last season and was popular with fans at Huish Park, and will be hoping to help The Railwaymen improve on last season’s 15^th place finish in League Two.

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

Daniel Daykin

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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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