Liverpool Loan Watch: February 2019

Welcome to the seventh 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. The club 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 January piece, here’s a link: http://fanscorners.com/liverpool-loan-watch-january-2019/

Let’s see how they got on in February…

Loris Karius – Besiktas

Karius has had a good month in Turkey, making four starts and being part of three Besiktas win. A hectic 6-2 win away at Antalyaspor put Karius’ side up to 3^rd, before the German keeper kept his first clean sheet of the month with a 2-0 win over Bursaspor, making three saves. The Turkish side recorded another big win away at Yeni, though Karius was questionable for Yeni’s consolation, occupying a poor starting position which resulted in a concession from a quick free kick. Besiktas concluded February by being involved in a bizarre fixture with rivals Fenerbahce. After finding themselves 3-0 up, they ended up drawing 3-3, conceding three times in a disastrous twelve minute spell in the second half.

Nathaniel Clyne – Bournemouth

Down at Bournemouth, Clyne has had a quieter month than expected, due to a depleted fixture list. He has started three times, though Bournemouth did not record a victory in February. His first start came in a 2-0 defeat away at Cardiff, and despite the Cherries’ poor defensive showing, Clyne was exempt from criticism for either goal. With Bournemouth’s next fixture a league game at Anfield, Clyne was ineligible to play, and so made his return in a 1-1 draw with Wolves, a game which saw three penalties awarded. Clyne once again had a very steady game defensively though offered little going forward. The former Southampton man was on the wrong end of a hiding at the end of February, as his side succumbed to a 5-1 thrashing at the Emirates.

Marko Grujic – Hertha Berlin

Over in Berlin, Marko Grujic has had another very good month for Hertha. He was the best player in a 1-0 defeat to Wolfsburg and managed to impress despite defeat once again as Bayern Munich knocked Hertha out of the German Cup. Grujic registered an assist and received heaps of credit for his performance in a 3-0 win away at Champions League-chasing Monchengladbach. Berlin drew 1-1 with Werder Bremen, a game in which Grujic was less involved, meanwhile former Premier League legends Salomon Kalou and Claudio Pizarro (HOW is he still playing) combining to rob Hertha of two points. The Serb was once again the best player for Hertha as Liverpool’s Champions League opponents Bayern Munich defeated Berlin 1-0 in the Bundesliga.

Danny Ings – Southampton

Danny Ings has once again had a month to forget at Southampton, with yet another injury preventing him from having a role in the Saints’ survival bid. Ings started the 1-1 draw with his former club Burnley, but came off injured during the game, and has failed to make a matchday squad since.

Adam Bogdan – Hibernian

It’s been a very frustrating month for Adam Bogdan, who has been unable to make the matchday squad for Hibernian in February, as he continues to recover from concussion sustained in the mid-January victory over Elgin City. It has been all change at Hibernian this month as former Barnsley and Leeds United manager Paul Heckingbottom has taken over at Easter Road.

Ryan Kent – Rangers

Ryan Kent’s form for Rangers has continued its upward trend in February, with the winger producing a series of good performance for the Glasgow side. Kent scored his first goal of the month in a 4-0 defeat of St Mirren, a lovely chip over the keeper in a game which saw the Gers awarded four penalties. Kent also hit the bar during the game. He was similarly impressive as Rangers defeated Aberdeen 4-2 in a highly entertaining game at Pittodrie. Next up for Rangers was a cup quarter final away at Kilmarnock, and despite Kent winning a penalty after a great bit of skill, Rangers drew 0-0 and were taken to a replay. Ibrox saw a second successive goalless draw for Rangers as Steven Gerrard’s side were held by St Johnstone. Interestingly, Gerrard bemoaned the lack of service for Kent in his post-match comments. Kent was excellent as Rangers recorded successive 5-0 wins over Kilmarnock in the cup and Hamilton in the league, before the former Coventry man unleashed one of his best performances of the season on relegation-threatened Dundee, giving the full back a nightmare of a day as he helped the Gers to a 4-0 win.

Ovie Ejaria – Reading

Ovie Ejaria’s loan move to Reading has continued its bright start with a series of good performances. Jose Gomes’ side are battling bravely against relegation, starting the month with a 0-0 draw with Aston Villa. Ejaria received mixed reviews after this game, before missing the draw at Hillsborough for Steve Bruce’s first game in charge of Sheffield Wednesday through illness. The midfielder was poor in Reading’s defeat to Blackburn, but still produced a moment of quality by playing a great ball to set up Yakou Meite for a huge chance, which he missed. Ejaria was withdrawn at half time as Reading were batted 4-0 by automatic promotion candidates Sheffield United. After the game, Gomes stated that Ejaria’s injury was crucial to the end result of the game. Ejaria bagged his first goal for the Royals as they drew 1-1 with relegation rivals Rotherham at the Madejski Stadium. The ex-Sunderland man was on the end of a glorious footballing move to slot home his first strike in blue and white.

*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

While Stade de Reims have had a fabulous February which has seen them move to within touching distance of the European spots in Ligue 1, a remarkable season for a newly-promoted club, Ojo has not had any involvement this month. He was an unused sub in the win over Marseille at the start of February, but then failed to make a matchday squad thereafter due to injury. The winger will be hoping to play a part in SDR’s unlikely European charge when he returns.

Harry Wilson – Derby County

It has been the hardest month of the season so far for Harry Wilson, who has suffered from being a part of Derby’s annual February collapse. He had a good game as the Rams drew 0-0 away at Preston, hitting the woodwork twice from outside the box, as he threatened to continue his run of long-distance strikes. However, he could not carry this form into the rest of February, being quiet as his side won 2-0 at home to Hull, though was involved in the build up to Martyn Waghorn’s second goal. Wilson was disappointingly uninvolved in the game as Derby drew 1-1 with bottom club Ipswich, before performing underwhelmingly again as Derby were knocked out of the FA Cup by Brighton. Derby’s shambolic February ended with defeats to Millwall and arch-rivals Nottingham Forest, with Wilson being taken off in both games due to a lack of impact.

Pedro Chirivella – Extremadura UD

Pedro Chirivella’s loan move to Spanish side Extremadura has been a disaster so far, being unable to make his debut due to a registration issue. The player finds himself in a very unlucky situation as the two clubs look to find a resolution. For the benefit of his career, he needs something sorting soon so that he is able to play football again this season.

Kamil Grabara – AGF Aarhus

Promising goalkeeper Kamil Grabara has made a good start to life in Denmark with AGF. He has started in all four games since arriving, the first of which was a 3-2 loss to Rosenborg in the Atlantic Cup. Grabara recorded consecutive clean sheets in his next two games, 2-0 and 1-0 wins over Esbjerg and SonderjskyE (Jesus only knows why that E is capitalised). His final game of February was actually a los, 2-1 to Midtjylland, but the Danish heavyweights registered a hatful of shots on target for Grabara to deal with. Regular gametime in a top-flight division is surely helping Grabara, who has clearly established himself as AGF’s number one for the rest of the campaign.

Taiwo Awoniyi – Royal Excel Mouscron

The undoubted star of Liverpool’s loanees this month has been Taiwo Awoniyi, whose return to Royal Excel Mouscron has been a roaring success so far. He helped his team to a 3-0 win over Sporting Charleroi, before scoring in the next three fixtures. He scored against KAA Gent, the club he spent the first half of this season with, with a powerful header from a cross just before half time, in an excellent 2-1 away win for Mouscron. Awoniyi found himself on the scoresheet again as Mouscron defeated Cercle Brugge 3-0, before bagging another goal against Lokeren, a header which earned his side a 1-0 win. Mouscron’s form since Awoniyi has arrived has been unbelievable, with six consecutive wins moving them from 15^th to 10^th in the table.

*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 – Fluminense

With his loan move to Eintracht Frankfurt proving fruitless, Allan has been moved to his homeland and joined Fluminense on loan. Let’s put it this way – finding information on Brazilian fixtures is not the easiest thing in the world. He made his debut (apparently) off the bench in a 2-0 win over Bangu, yet didn’t make the matchday squad (apparently) for a 0-0 draw with Antofagasta. I can’t wait to continue researching these sides for the next three months.

*these stats are just for his time at Fluminense and don’t include his spell at Eintracht Frankfurt, where he had 2 starts, 2 sub appearances and 0 goals

Anderson Arroyo – KAA Gent

See last month.

Liam Millar – Kilmarnock

Canadian striker Liam Millar has made a good start to life in Kilmarnock, making five substitute appearances for Steve Clarke’s side. He has come off the bench for the latter stages of games, the longest appearance being 14 minutes in a 2-2 draw with Dundee. Despite Killie’s fantastic season which has them 4^th in the league, their form has tailed off lately and Clarke may turn to Millar to help address the lack of goals in recent games.

Herbie Kane – Doncaster Rovers

Doncaster Rovers are approaching the business end of the League One season as they look to secure promotion to the Championship and Kane is continuing to be a key part of the Donny squad. Kane started a crunch match with promotion rivals Portsmouth, which ended a 1-1 draw. The midfielder was superb in this tight game and dictated play from deep. Doncaster registered a 3-1 win over Peterborough United, who are chasing Rovers for a playoff place. Kane was good again in this massive win for Grant McCann’s side. The Bristolian was influential ass Doncaster brushed aside Southend by a scoreline of 3-0 at the Keepmoat. Kane assisted the second goal before scoring Donny’s third – a tap in after a good team move. Doncaster faced Premier League opposition in Crystal Palace in the FA Cup Fifth Round, and while Kane wasn’t at his excellent best, he was still passable and his pressing was noticeable, even if his end product was lacking. He was in the starting eleven again for the 1-1 draw with local rivals Scunthorpe, but sustained a small injury in this match which kept him out of the subsequent 2-0 defeat to Shrewsbury – a result which perhaps indicates Kane’s importance to this side.

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

Daniel @daykind19

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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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