Liverpool Loan Watch: March 2021

Welcome to the seventh 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.

Let’s see how they got on in March…

Marko Grujic – FC Porto

March started in rather embarrassing fashion for both Grujic and Porto, with the club dumped out of the League Cup semi-finals by Braga at home, losing the second leg 2-3 after drawing 1-1 in the opening match in February. The Serbian midfielder was handed a rare start but suffered the humiliation of being hooked off after just 28 minutes, along with former Newcastle defender Chancel Mbemba, with Porto finding themselves two goals behind early on. There was no surprise then, to see him back on the bench for the following league match, a comfortable win away at Gil Vicente, though he did get the last five minutes as a sub. The second leg of Porto’s Champions League last 16 tie, away to Juventus in Italy, saw the biggest result of Grujic’s time at the club. Despite losing the game 3-2 after extra-time, Porto qualified for the quarter-finals on away goals. Grujic came on with the score at 2-1 to Juventus after a brace from Federico Chiesa and helped his team navigate their way through extra-time to make the last eight, where they will play Chelsea. Porto won their final two games of the month, league fixtures against Pacos Ferreira and Portimonense, and Grujic came on as a sub in both.

Takumi Minamino – Southampton

Minamino was unavailable for Southampton’s loss to Everton as their poor form continued, the on-loan attacker ruled out with a muscle injury. He was back in time for Southampton’s long-awaited return to form six days later though, as the Saints defeated Sheffield United 0-2 at Bramall Lane. He really should’ve had a goal of his own in the second half but dragged his shot wide when in a good position. The Japanese international was an unused sub in their 5-2 defeat at Manchester City but back in the starting lineup four days later for the derby clash at home to Brighton. Ralph Hasenhuttl’s team were beaten again, 1-2 despite taking the lead through Che Adams. Minamino had a difficult afternoon and couldn’t get into the game, being subbed on 65 minutes. The forward was ruled out of Southampton’s FA Cup Quarter-Final against Bournemouth as he was cup-tied after playing for Liverpool against Aston Villa in the third round, meaning he missed his team’s comfortable passage to the semi-finals, where they will play Leicester City.

Sheyi Ojo – Cardiff City

Cardiff started March where they left off in February, thrashing Wayne Rooney’s Derby County 4-0 at home, a game which Ojo started. He had a really good game, offering plenty of energy and work-rate in a somewhat unfamiliar striking role. The loanee showed great awareness to set up Leandro Bacuna for his second goal in what was a good all-round performance. After a number of starts, Mick McCarthy rotated his pack for the trip to Huddersfield, which included Ojo dropping to the bench. He came on for the final stages but couldn’t influence the goalless draw. Cardiff tasted defeat for the first time under McCarthy, thanks to a late free-kick – and some terrible Dillon Phillips goalkeeping – from Watford’s Adam Masina. Ojo was brought on for the last fifteen minutes but could not swing the game Cardiff’s way as the Hornets recorded an impressive away win. He started the goalless draw against Stoke but was disappointing, before being put back on the bench for the Welsh Derby away at Swansea, which Cardiff won 0-1, Ojo coming on very late on in the match.

Adam Lewis – Plymouth Argyle

Lewis made his third start for Plymouth in their disappointing away loss to Northampton, and apart from one inviting cross in the first half, had a quiet game. He was back on the bench for the trip to Doncaster, who are chasing automatic promotion despite the departure of manager Darren Moore to South Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday and was brought on late on in their 2-1 defeat at the Keepmoat. It was another appearance from the bench as Argyle suffered a chastening home loss to relegation-threatened Wigan but things were about to get worse for Lewis. The left-back was brought back into the starting eleven for the trip to Portman Road but made a catastrophic error four minutes into proceedings, gifting Ipswich Town a goal with a badly under-hit backpass to set up the only goal of the game. Unsurprisingly, he was dropped for this, meaning he was just a substitute for the 2-1 loss at MK Dons. He bounced back well though, starting against Bristol Rovers and getting two assists for Niall Ennis’ goals as Argyle got a deserved home win. Unfortunately though, his up-and-down form continued, with a shocking performance away at Blackpool, getting caught out by a long ball for the first Tangerines goal before giving away a penalty for the second in a game that Plymouth drew 2-2.

Harry Wilson – Cardiff City

The February form of Harry Wilson saw him nominated alongside Teemu Pukki, Michal Helik and Ivan Toney for Championship player of the month, though the Welshman lost out to Pukki. Wilson was afforded a rare rest in Cardiff’s win over Derby County, before being brought back into the team for the trip to Huddersfield, under the management of Carlos Corberan – formerly Marcelo Bielsa’s assistant at Leeds – which ended a 0-0 draw after ex-Arsenal striker Yaya Sanogo missed a penalty for the home team. He was one of Cardiff’s better players in their first defeat under Mick McCarthy, creating things and always looking to be positive with the ball. It was another 0-0 next up – this time at home to Stoke. Wilson was a late sub in this game, though was restored to the starting lineup for the trip to rivals Swansea. The loanee impressed in the early stages as he pressed relentlessly, helping set the platform for a big 0-1 win.

Harvey Elliott – Blackburn Rovers

Blackburn endured a terrible February and March started in the same way, a 1-0 loss to playoff-chasing Reading. Elliott suffered surely his worst moment so far as a Blackburn player, taking way too long to release the ball in front of his own box, allowing Lucas Joao to nick the ball from him and set up George Puscas to score the only goal. Blackburn’s first win in more than a month finally came with an impressive 0-2 away win at Millwall. Elliott was understandably dropped for his error in the Reading game but did come off the bench to help set up the second goal. He remained on the bench for the visit of Swansea, who took the lead through Andre Ayew’s penalty. Elliott came on in the second half to help Blackburn find an equaliser with some very good ball control. Tony Mowbray’s men faced another promotion contender three days later in Brentford. The away team won the match through Ivan Toney, Elliott not able to help his side get anything from a game which was marred by an ACL injury to Bradley Dack, a huge blow for Blackburn and their talisman. He had a tough outing in Blackburn’s 0-0 draw with Bristol City before finishing the month positively, getting an assist from a free-kick as Blackburn got a very respectable 1-1 draw at Premier League-bound Norwich City.

Sepp Van Den Berg – Preston North End

Van Den Berg continued at right-back for Preston’s first game of the month, a 2-1 defeat at The Den to Millwall. Though the opening goal came down his side, there was nothing he could really do about it and it was a relatively tidy showing overall. The Dutchman’s best display for North End so far came in their respectable 1-1 draw with Bournemouth at Deepdale. He was assured in possession, aggressive in the tackle and held his own against one of the strongest teams in the league. His fourth consecutive start at right-back came at Adams Park as Preston took on basement boys Wycombe. To everyone’s surprise, Wanderers outclassed Preston and won the game 1-0. It was notable how much Van Den Berg struggled with Wycombe’s physicality, particularly in the first half. He put in a decent performance away at Middlesbrough though, nearly opening the scoring with a strike that hit the bar in the first half, before a quite bizarre performance in the 1-0 loss at home to Luton. Van Den Berg wasn’t bad per se but was pulled up for no less than three foul throws in the match. March ended with the news that manager Alex Neil was sacked by Preston after nearly four years in charge.

Loris Karius – Union Berlin

With regular goalkeeper Andreas Luthe back from injury now, Karius spent all of March on the bench.

Taiwo Awoniyi – Union Berlin

Awoniyi’s hamstring injury, sustained in February, kept him out of all of March.

Kamil Grabara – AGF Aarhus

Grabara’s team suffered a surprising 0-1 loss at home to Nordsjaelland in their first match of the month, though were down to ten men from the sixth minute. The goalkeeper travelled to familiar surroundings for Liverpool, as he and his team took on the Reds’ Champions League Group Stage opponents FC Midtjylland away from home. They came away with a 0-1 win against a team that contains former Everton goalkeeper Jonas Lossl as well as ex-Celtic man Erik Sviatchenko. Despite losing the second leg of their cup semi-final 2-1, their 3-1 win in the first leg meant they qualified for the semi-finals 4-3 on aggregate, where they will play Randers for a place in the final. Randers were their next opponents in the league, with a late equaliser ruining Grabara’s clean sheet. AGF then travelled to league leaders Brondby with a chance to close the gap to the top down to four points, but a 1-1 draw meant that AGF remained seven off top spot.

Liam Millar – Charlton Athletic

Millar’s versatility was on display early in March, as he started on the right wing of a 4-3-3 in their 0-1 win at Wigan, before moving to the left-hand side of midfield in a 4-4-2 for the following match, a respectable 0-0 draw with fellow playoff hopefuls Oxford United. It was the back to the right-wing for the 2-1 victory over Northampton, before a less successful switch back to the left for the 1-1 draw with Shrewsbury. Millar then found himself used in a midfield diamond in Charlton’s much-needed 3-2 win over Bristol Rovers. The Canadian finished the month well, getting two assists in a 2-2 draw away at AFC Wimbledon. Charlton’s month was headlined by manager Lee Bowyer resigning from his post, to re-join former club Birmingham, replacing the sacked Aitor Karanka. Bowyer was replaced by former Southampton, Reading, Sheffield United and Hull City manager Nigel Adkins.

Vitezslav Jaros – St Patrick’s Athletic

With the Ireland Premier Division season starting in March, goalkeeper Jaros finally got to make his St Patrick’s debut. Athletic started the season well, with a 1-1 draw with Shamrock Rovers and a 2-1 win over Drogheda United, Jaros starting both games.

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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