Liverpool Loan Watch: February 2021

Welcome to the sixth instalment in the 2020/21 loan watch series. This is the third year I have run the loan watch – a series of monthly articles analysing all of Liverpool’s out-on-loan players. Recent years have seen the likes of Ovie Ejaria, Harry Wilson, Herbie Kane, Marko Grujic, Taiwo Awoniyi, Rhian Brewster, Ryan Kent and Kamil Grabara all have successful spells, and the club will be hoping for more fruitful loan periods from its eleven loanees this season.

Source: https://www.southamptonfc.com/

Let’s see how they got on in February…

Marko Grujic – FC Porto

February started in familiar fashion for Grujic, as he made his eleventh sub appearance of the season in Porto’s 2-0 home win over Rio Ave. Their title hopes were dealt a huge blow in their next game though, a goalless draw at Beleneses, which left the reigning champions seven points behind league leaders Sporting CP. On the same day of Liverpool’s implosion against Manchester City, Grujic’s FC Porto also saw their chances of the title fade away with a late collapse against third-placed SC Braga, drawing 2-2 despite being 2-0 to the good up until the 87^th minute in a game that Grujic didn’t feature in. They again faced Braga – now managed by former Sheffield Wednesday boss Carlos Carvalhal – in the first leg of the Portuguese Cup semi-final, and Grujic was a sub as the sides played out a 1-1 draw. Porto’s league title hopes took yet another blow when they drew 2-2 with Boavista at home in their next match, manager Sergio Conceicao using Grujic from the bench again. Porto’s best result of the season so far came in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie against Andrea Pirlo’s Juventus. Porto were excellent, with 38-year-old centre-back Pepe rolling back the years in a faultless display as they raced into a shock 2-0 lead over the Old Lady. Federico Chiesa got a crucial away goal for Juventus, meaning Porto must defend a 2-1 lead in Turin in the second leg. Grujic came on for the closing stages and nearly got his first Porto goal with a header late on. He helped see out the last few minutes of a big win away at Maritimo, thanks to a 93^rd minute penalty from Otavio. Next up was the big clash with league leaders Sporting CP. Porto needed to win to claw back the deficit in the title race but they were held to a 0-0 draw, which leaves them ten points behind their opponents. Grujic was unused in this crunch match.

Takumi Minamino – Southampton

Japanese international Takumi Minamino joined the likes of Virgil Van Dijk, Danny Ings, Dejan Lovren, Jamie Redknapp, Peter Crouch, Steven Caulker, Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sadio Mane and Nathaniel Clyne when he became the latest player on the well-trodden path of representing Liverpool and Southampton in the Premier League. There was some surprise over Liverpool allowing Minamino to depart on loan for the rest of the season, particularly when Jurgen Klopp’s team are struggling for goals but the German manager was insistent that this was not the end of Minamino’s Liverpool career and that he would be back on Merseyside a stronger player – a claim backed up by the fact that there is no option to buy included in the loan deal. Fortunately for Minamino, he was not registered in time to suffer the ignominy of Southampton’s 9-0 loss at Old Trafford, and so his debut came at Newcastle three days later. Awarded a start by his former RB Salzburg manager Ralph Hasenhuttl, intriguingly on the left-hand side of a 4-4-2, he made an instant impact, scoring on the half-hour mark with an excellent first touch and searing strike into the roof of the net. Unfortunately, Newcastle were 2-0 up at that point and went onto win 3-2, thanks to a brace from Miguel Almiron – who, after moving to England in 2019 from the MLS, is really making his mark now – and Minamino can perhaps take some inspiration from the former Atlanta United man, who is a similar kind of player in terms of his versatility and work-rate. Because Minamino played in Liverpool’s win at Villa Park in January, he was ineligible for Southampton’s FA Cup victory over Wolves, though was back in the starting line-up for the next Premier League match – also against Wolves. Despite going in front, Saints lost their way in the second half, with Wolves winning 2-1 thanks to a stunning individual goal from Pedro Neto. Minamino was substituted after having very little effect on the game. The Japan international’s second goal for the Saints came in their 1-1 draw with Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea at St Mary’s. He showed terrific composure after receiving the ball from Nathan Redmond, calmly picking his moment and spot to guide the ball past Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy. Unfortunately, he didn’t have much influence on the rest of the match. Surprisingly, he was not picked to start the following match against Leeds at Elland Road, though did come on for the final stages of a humbling 3-0 loss.

Sheyi Ojo – Cardiff City

Cardiff’s first win under Mick McCarthy came in their opening match of the month, the Severnside Derby against Bristol City, who are stuttering after a bright start to the season. McCarthy kept faith with Ojo and started him in the crunch tie, and the winger responded in style, giving one of his best performances of the season, linking up really well with striker Kieffer Moore and producing an excellent cross for Moore’s first goal en route to the Bluebirds’ 0-2 win. Ojo continued in the starting line-up for the trip to struggling Rotherham United and the winger opened the scoring with a cool finish after being played in by fellow Liverpool loanee Harry Wilson as Cardiff held on for a 1-2 win. He missed the following victories over Coventry and Luton with an injury though, before returning for a fifth straight win – this time a 4-0 cruise against Preston, making his return from the bench. Cardiff’s biggest result of the season came in the following 2-1 away victory over fellow playoff contenders Bournemouth. The Bluebirds were terrific in the first half but had to ride the storm in the second, with the winger coming on to add some direction in attack in the closing stages. Their winning run finally came to an end with a 1-1 draw at the Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough coming from a goal down to make sure the game ended a point apiece. Ojo came on from the bench but couldn’t change the course of the game.

Adam Lewis – Plymouth Argyle

It was nearly a perfect start to the month for Plymouth, who were 2-0 up away from home at rivals Portsmouth, before the promotion-chasing Pompey got back into it and rescued a draw at Fratton Park. Lewis was given the last two minutes and injury time from the bench. There were two consecutive 1-0 wins for Ryan Lowe’s team over Accrington and Fleetwood, with Lewis coming on as a sub in both victories. Two more sub appearances followed, in a 0-0 draw with Rochdale and a 0-3 loss at home to Peterborough, with Lewis struggling to help his side break their scoring hoodoo in either match. Lewis came back into the team for the home clash with 2^nd-placed Lincoln City, starting as a left-wingback in a three-at-the-back system. It was a tough game for the loanee but he came up with some good tackles in a highly eventful 4-3 win for Argyle.

Harry Wilson – Cardiff City

Wilson was restored to the starting line-up for Cardiff’s clash with rivals Bristol City at Ashton Gate and he had a superb game, assisting Kieffer Moore’s second goal and dominating proceedings all afternoon as Mick McCarthy’s team ran out 0-2 winners. The Welshman was in similarly effective form as he set up Sheyi Ojo for the first goal at the New York Stadium, where Cardiff recorded a 1-2 win. The Bluebirds’ switch to three at the back – deploying the trio of Curtis Nelson, Sean Morrison and Aden Flint – has made them so much more solid and has also helped lay the foundations for the attack. Wilson had a quieter day as Cardiff comfortably saw off the challenge of Coventry City, with a 3-1 win to make it three in a row. City’s terrific form continued with a gritty 0-2 win away from home at Luton, with Wilson being particularly impressive. He grabbed a tight game by the scruff of the neck and scored a lovely goal with a well-directed, curling shot from outside of the box past Luton keeper Simon Sluga. Wilson’s pressing was particularly impressive in the 4-0 thrashing of Preston North End, the Welshman sprinkling his quality all over proceedings, setting up Josh Murphy for his goal in a super individual display. Next up was a reunion with his former club AFC Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium. Cardiff made it six wins on the spin with a massive performance, particularly in defence. Wilson showed plenty of quality and class on the ball in the first half to help his current team overtake his former employers in the table. Mick McCarthy’s winning run came to an end in the 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough. Wilson was unlucky to see his free-kick saved by Boro keeper Marcus Bettinelli but overall didn’t have much influence on the game.

Harvey Elliott – Blackburn Rovers

February started badly for playoff-chasing Blackburn, who fell to a 1-0 defeat at Loftus Road. Elliott spurned a glorious opportunity to score in the first half and failed to have much influence on the game beyond that as QPR saw out the victory. There was more disappointment for Tony Mowbray’s team as they were beaten by rivals Preston at home, with a 1-2 scoreline. After fifteen consecutive starts, Elliott was left out of this one but did come off the bench to try and change the game in the latter stages. He remained out of the starting eleven for another loss, away at Barnsley, though did provide an assist for Adam Armstrong’s consolation goal when he entered the fray. He was back in the starting eleven for the following fixture, a meeting with Chris Hughton’s Nottingham Forest at the City Ground. He found himself deployed in an unfamiliar number ten role, which suited his playmaking, but Forest’s defensive pairing of Tobias Figuerido and Joe Worrall dealt with him pretty well as Rovers were beaten again, 1-0. Elliott’s first goal of February came in their next fixture, a tough assignment at home to promotion hopefuls Watford. Though the Hornets came away with a 3-2 win, making it five straight losses for Blackburn, Elliott got on the scoresheet with a delightful finish in the first half. He didn’t have quite the precision in passing in the second half though as Blackburn once again fell to defeat. His movement was impressive in the 1-1 draw with Coventry, as Blackburn’s losing run finally ended, though made some poor decisions on the ball.

Sepp Van Den Berg – Preston North End

Part of Liverpool’s deadline day move for Ben Davies was loaning young defender Sepp Van Den Berg to Deepdale for the rest of the season. The Lancashire club also purchased Liam Lindsay on deadline day, so it is likely that Van Den Berg will be competing with the former Stoke man for playing time alongside Paul Huntington. The Dutchman made his debut for Alex Neil’s men off the bench at home to a resurgent Rotherham, who recorded an impressive 2-1 victory over Preston. He was an unused substitute for the win over Blackburn and then losses to Watford and Cardiff. He made his first start for North End in their 0-0 draw at home to QPR, helping them to a clean sheet. Interestingly, he was used at right-back in this game, and though he looked suspect with one v ones a few times, had a decent showing overall. This meant that he kept his place on the right-hand side of defence for the following fixture, at home to Huddersfield. He was again impressive, helping shut out the opponent’s threat from the left flank with his aggression and also showed his culture, with quality on the ball as Preston romped to a 3-0 win.

Loris Karius – Union Berlin

With regular goalkeeper Andreas Luthe suffering with illness, Karius finally made his Bundesliga debut for Union Berlin in February, helping keep a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw with Schalke. Union then got a 1-0 win away at Freiburg, Karius notching up a second shutout in as many matches. His third league start ended in a 1-1 draw with Hoffenheim. This is also likely to be his last start for a while, with Luthe available again, according to manager Urs Fischer.

Taiwo Awoniyi – Union Berlin

It was a difficult start to the month for Awoniyi, who is still trying to regain his form from December, with Union losing 1-0 at Mainz and the Nigerian striker finding himself taken off in the second half. His poor run of form continued as he failed to find the net against Schalke. Unfortunately, the striker then picked up a thigh injury, which is expected to keep him out for a few weeks.

Kamil Grabara – AGF Aarhus

The Danish Superliga returned in February and Grabara made a good start, keeping a clean sheet at Velje BK, his fourth of the season. Their positive form continued with a 1-0 victory over Lyngby, moving into 2^nd place in the league after another Grabara shut-out. He was agonisingly close to another clean sheet in his next match, the first leg of the Danish Cup quarter-final, a 3-1 win against B93, with the opposition goal coming in the 93^rd minute. He was back to form in the league three days later though, recording another shut-out in a goalless draw with OB. Grabara’s excellent run kept on with a 2-0 win at home to Sonderjyske, making it seven clean sheets so far for the Pole. There was no clean sheet next time out though, as third played fourth, AGF drawing 3-3 with Copenhagen, Grabara’s team blowing a 3-1 lead before succumbing in the eleventh minute of injury time to a penalty.

Liam Millar – Charlton Athletic

Millar was benched by manager Lee Bowyer for the first time as Charlton changed shape for the visit of fellow promotion-chasers Portsmouth. It didn’t work though, and Millar, along with Wigan hero Ben Watson, was introduced at half-time. However, neither could do anything to prevent Pompey running out 1-3 winners at the Valley. There was better luck next time out for Millar though, as he was afforded a start on the left of a 4-4-2 in Charlton’s 0-2 away win over Rochdale. The Canadian forward registered an assist for Chuks Aneke’s goal after seven minutes as the Addicks cruised to three points at Spotland. He lasted the 90 minutes as Charlton fell to a very disappointing loss at home to Gillingham as their promotion hopes were dealt another blow. Interestingly, Bowyer opted to play Millar on the right side of the front three for the fixture with Fleetwood, which they drew 1-1, before putting him back on the left for the next game, a 1-2 loss to struggling Burton, now under the management of Premier League legend Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. Charlton’s terrible form carried on with a 0-2 loss at home to Blackpool, Millar this time starting in a midfield diamond system in a game that ended with Charlton down to nine men after having Darren Pratley and Chuks Aneke sent off, leaving them 12^th and five points off the playoffs at the end of the month.

Vitezslav Jaros – St Patrick’s Athletic

With young goalkeepers Liam Hughes and Marcel Pitaluga both joining the Reds’ academy teams in recent months, it was no surprise to see a goalkeeper temporarily depart the club in January, and this was Czech Republic stopper Vitezslav Jaros. The 19-year-old played for Liverpool as a substitute in a pre-season friendly at Tranmere in July 2019 and also found himself on the bench for last season’s FA Cup tie with Shrewsbury and three matches of this season’s Champions League. He joins Irish Premier Division side St Patrick’s Athletic. The Dublin-based team finished 5^th last season and are due to start the upcoming season in mid-March.

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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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