Liverpool Loan Watch: November 2020

Welcome to the third 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: cardiffcityfc.co.uk

Let’s see how they got on in November…

Marko Grujic – FC Porto

Porto began November with a comfortable 3-0 win over Marseille in their Champions League group. Grujic came off the bench for the final few moments of their second victory in the competition. He got slightly more gametime, though, 22 minutes, as the champions came from behind to beat Portimonense 3-1. The Serbian’s second start for Porto ended in disaster, as even though they effectively secured Champions League qualification with another win against Marseille, Grujic was sent off in the second half for two yellow cards. Despite this, he was trusted to start in the next fixture, a 1-0 away win at Santa Clara, in which he put in a good performance for the 65 minutes he was on the pitch.

Sheyi Ojo – Cardiff City

Cardiff made a good start to the month, beating Barnsley 3-0, with Ojo coming off the bench for the last quarter of the match and showing some neat touches as Neil Harris’ team got a rare home win. It was a disappointing loss to the well-oiled machine that is Bristol City next up though, with Dean Holden’s team continuing their excellent start to the season. Ojo started the Severnside derby and while displaying good turns of pace, his final ball let him down on a few occasions as Cardiff found themselves out-thought by a terrific defensive showing from Bristol City. They bounced back to some extent with a respectable draw away at Millwall, Harris seeing his team come from behind against his former employers, using Ojo from the bench. He was again only a substitute as the Bluebirds fell to a very disappointing loss away at Coventry. Ojo rifled home his fourth Cardiff goal in a brilliant 4-0 win over Luton Town, rounding off the scoring with a thunderous finish, repaying Neil Harris’ faith after restoring him to the starting lineup, putting in a respectable performance before the goal came late on.

Adam Lewis – Amiens SC

Over in France, Amiens were beaten 1-0 at home by Toulouse in their opening match of November. Lewis entered the fray in the second half, though it was in vain as the ten men could not get back into the match. They fell to another loss, this time 2-1 at Auxerre, with Lewis starting the match at left-back but being withdrawn in the second half with injury, which ended up being his last appearance of the month.

Ben Woodburn – Blackpool

Woodburn missed Blackpool’s 1-0 victory against Wigan and their FA Cup progression by beating Eastbourne Borough as he continued his self-isolation process after testing positive for COVID-19. He returned from the bench away at Peterborough as Blackpool secured a major win on the road, the Welshman helping to set up the late winner. Woodburn remained on the bench for the next fixture, though, a 3-2 loss at Doncaster, where he was only given nine minutes. He got just over an hour as Blackpool routed Harrogate Town in the second round of the FA Cup, playing in an advanced midfield role.

Harry Wilson – Cardiff City

Harry Wilson showed how important he is to the Cardiff City team by starring on his return from a minor injury, winning man of the match in a 3-0 home win over Barnsley. Wilson’s twinkling toes won the Bluebirds a penalty and threatened all evening before smashing home the third goal with a brilliant effort from outside the box. Wilson was once again Cardiff’s biggest threat as they failed to break down Bristol City, whose organisation foiled the home team’s attackers, though Wilson did go close with a few strikes. He came closest to winning the game for Cardiff in their trip to Millwall but was foiled by Bartosz Bialkowski. The attacking midfielder put in arguably his worst showing for Cardiff in the loss at Coventry, misplacing a number of passes. Wilson registered two assists in the much-needed 4-0 win over Luton, a pair of his corners being nodded home, first by captain Sean Morrison and then Mark Harris.

Harvey Elliott – Blackburn Rovers

Blackburn’s struggle for goals continued as they drew 0-0 at home with Middlesbrough, though Elliott was one of few players who looked capable of creating anything, with his well-weighted pass to Joe Rankin-Costello a highlight. Elliott was influential as Rovers recorded a good win over QPR at home, getting the assist for Blackburn’s second goal with a wonderful through ball. He was involved again, contributing to Tony Mowbray’s team grabbing an equaliser away at Luton in the first match after the international break. Blackburn ran riot in their derby win over Preston, securing a 3-0 win at Deepdale, with Elliott coming on from the bench to show his quality in the later stages. He was back in from the start for their 2-1 home win against Barnsley, though had a very quiet game and was taken off on the hour mark.

Morgan Boyes – Fleetwood Town

It is unclear what the situation with Morgan Boyes is, as the young Welsh defender has not made an appearance for Fleetwood this month, despite no report of an injury.

Tony Gallacher – Toronto FC

Gallacher made his fourth Toronto start as they defeated Inter Miami, ran by David Beckham, by two goals to one. The Scot lasted 90 minutes in a tight affair which saw Blaise Matuidi score for Inter, who also boast Gonzalo Higuain on their books now. He was only a substitute though as they lost 2-1 to New York Red Bulls in the final game of the regular season. There was a huge surprise for Toronto though, with last year’s runners-up exiting the playoffs in the first round, losing 1-0 at home to expansion team Nashville SC and bringing an end to their 2020. Gallacher came off the bench in the second half but couldn’t save their MLS Cup hopes.

Loris Karius – Union Berlin

There is very little to report on Karius’ loan move, he is definitely the second choice at Union, and thus hasn’t appeared in November.

Taiwo Awoniyi – Union Berlin

Awoniyi’s second start for Union Berlin was a successful one for his club as they recorded a 2-1 win away from home, at Hoffenheim. The Nigerian striker was withdrawn at half-time, though. His Union Berlin career kickstarted properly with a start and a goal away at FC Koln, showing good hold-up play to bring the ball down before sliding it into the bottom corner. An injury crisis in the forward department means that Awoniyi is likely to be leading the forward line for the foreseeable, and was given another start in a 3-3 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt.

Kamil Grabara – AGF Aarhus

It was a draw to start November for AGF, who were held 1-1 by Sonderjyske, Grabara unable to keep out the penalty of the home team. There was more disappointment for AGF after the international break, as they lost 2-1 to FC Midtjylland, Liverpool’s Champions League Group D opponents. Their bad run continue with a 3-1 defeat at Norsjaelland as a bad month came to an end.

• About
• Latest Posts

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.

Latest posts by Daniel Daykin (see all)

• Liverpool Loan Watch: March 2021 - April 6, 2021
• Liverpool Loan Watch: February 2021 - March 8, 2021
• Liverpool Loan Watch: January 2021 - February 6, 2021