Liverpool Loan Watch: October 2020

The loan watch is back! Welcome to the second 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 October…

Marko Grujic – FC Porto

Serbian midfielder Marko Grujic may have played twice for Liverpool this season, one of these appearances even in October, but a couple of impressive Carabao Cup performances were not enough to keep him at the club, with reigning Portuguese champions and Champions League regulars Porto taking him on loan in an exciting move. Ironically, his first involvement with his new club was in England, an away assignment to Manchester City in their Champions League group. Grujic was an unused sub as City ran out 3-1 winners with goals from Sergio Aguero, Ilkay Gundogan and Ferran Torres and Luis Diaz bagging for Porto. He remained on the bench as Porto secured a 1-0 win over Gil Vicente in the league. Grujic finally made his Porto debut when he was brought on for the last twenty minutes of the 2-0 victory against Olympiacos in the Champions League. The Serbian made some neat passes in his cameo. He got his first start away at Pacos Fereira in the league, a game in which Porto fell to a surprise 3-2 loss, with Grujic coming off at half-time. This game also included possibly the worst VAR decision I’ve ever seen – check it out.

Sheyi Ojo – Cardiff City

Ojo started October well, with a very good performance in a 0-0 draw against Blackburn. Ojo’s link-up play at Ewood Park had dramatically improved from his three previous outings for Cardiff. Despite putting in an average showing, he scored his first Cardiff goal – the winning goal – in a 1-0 victory away from home at Preston. Ojo was supplied in a rapid counter-attack and then finished the move off with a crashing finish, despite a pass to the free Harry Wilson on the other side looking the better option. Next up for Neil Harris’ team was a well-earned 1-1 draw with Bournemouth, in which Ojo impressed and kickstarted a number of Cardiff attacks. He grabbed another important goal in the home draw with Middlesbrough – equalising after former manager Neil Warnock had seen his side go in front – by scrambling home from a corner. Harris’ men made it three 1-1 draws in a row with a stalemate away at Derby County as they start rivalling Sunderland for the club most in love with a 1-1 scoreline. Ojo was Cardiff’s best player in this match, playing a great ball through for Kieffer Moore to equalise. Whilst he created an opportunity for himself, which he miscued, he was nowhere near as effective as Cardiff were beaten 3-2 by QPR in an exciting game at Loftus Road. The usually defensively-solid Bluebirds were cut open too many times and Ojo tasted defeat as a result.

Adam Lewis – Amiens SC

It was a poor start to October for Amiens as they were beaten 1-0 by Caen, with Lewis coming on as a sub in the second half. He remained on the bench for a 1-0 win over Grenoble, although did not enter the fray at any point. He had better luck in the trip to Sochaux though, where he was brought off the bench for the second half as his side earned a 2-0 victory.

Ben Woodburn – Blackpool

Despite strong interest from Hull City and Sparta Rotterdam, Liverpool’s youngest ever goalscorer ended up joining Blackpool on loan. He joins up with former Liverpool U23 manager Neil Critchley for another season in League One after a spell with Oxford United last season. The Welshman’s debut for the Tangerines came on the left wing in a late loss at home to Lee Bowyer’s Charlton Athletic, and perhaps could’ve done better with one chance. He was given another start in a 1-0 win over MK Dons at home but struggled to impose himself on the game in a midfield role. Most of his work was defensive and he was guilty of spoiling a promising counter-attack before being subbed. Blackpool fell to a 1-0 loss at AFC Wimbledon and Woodburn was demoted to the bench for this one, though did come on with half an hour to go. He found himself shrugged off the ball too easily as Wimbledon ground out the win. The youngster missed their 2-1 win over Burton Albion after returning a positive test for COVID-19.

Harry Wilson – Cardiff City

It isn’t just Sheyi Ojo loaned out to Cardiff, for the Bluebirds have moved to secure the signature of Harry Wilson too. This is one of the most high-profile transfers in the Championship this season, with Cardiff beating off competition from Derby, who tried to re-sign their former attacker. Wilson’s first appearance was in the 1-0 win at Preston. He came on at Deepdale for the injured Greg Cunningham and had a solid enough first outing. His full debut came against his former club Bournemouth in a 1-1 draw at home. Wilson was outstanding and was central to everything that Cardiff did well. He popped up in good areas and helped generate passages of play. He was unlucky not to score with a chance in the first half and then hit the bar in the second from a free-kick, before sliding home an equaliser with a nicely-struck shot for his first goal. He wasn’t able to replicate this performance level in the 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough, though. Wilson operated largely on the periphery and struggled to have much influence. There was no reunion with former club Derby County or trip to QPR for Wilson, as he didn’t make the matchday squad with an injury.

Harvey Elliott – Blackburn Rovers

Perhaps the most surprising loan move of Liverpool’s window was the temporary departure of Harvey Elliott. The young winger is very highly-rated by the club and it was expected that he would stick around, however the early exit from the Carabao Cup meant it was more beneficial for him to spend a year out on loan. Blackburn is an interesting choice of club. Tony Mowbray does a good job there and always gets the best out of his players. Elliott links up with former Red Stewart Downing at Ewood Park. His Championship debut came in a 3-1 loss at the impressive Watford. Despite the scoreline, Elliott was one of Blackburn’s best players and did not at all look out of his depth on the right wing. The former Fulham man was tremendous once again as Blackburn thrashed newly-promoted Coventry 4-0 away from home. He gave full-back Ryan Giles a torrid time and finished off a great team move with a cool effort for his first senior goal in football. It was a more difficult outing for Elliott as Blackburn were beaten 4-2 at home by surprise league leaders Reading. Elliott’s passing was inaccurate and he didn’t manage to affect the game. It was another tough game for him as Swansea ran out 2-0 winners at home to Rovers, with Elliott having to drop deep to pick up the ball and struggling to have any influence as a result.

Morgan Boyes – Fleetwood Town

Fleetwood’s surprisingly poor start to the season continued with a shock 2-1 loss at Rochdale, Boyes completing the full 90 minutes at centre-back. Boyes was called up to the Wales U21 squad which meant he missed the Fishermen’s League One win over Hull and draw with Lincoln. He was an unused sub for the 1-0 loss at Accrington as Joey Barton opted for a three-at-the-back system. Boyes then suffered a foot injury which kept him out of contentions for wins over Gillingham, Shrewsbury and Oxford.

Tony Gallacher – Toronto FC

Gallacher’s maiden October appearance was in a comeback 2-1 win over Philadelphia Union, the Scot coming off the bench to help see the victory out. He was a sub again, appearing for the last twenty minutes, as Toronto secured a huge 1-0 away win at FC Cincinnati to go top of the league. For the following draw with New York Red Bulls, the Scot didn’t make it off the bench. Gallacher was back in the starting lineup for the 1-0 win over Atlanta United, a team which feature former Liverpool youngster Brooks Lennon and ex-Aston Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan. He was on the bench again though as Toronto were thrashed 5-0 by Philadelphia Union, though was restored to the eleven for a home clash with New York City, former club of Andrea Pirlo, Frank Lampard and David Villa. It was New York who came out with the three points though, winning 1-0 with a goal that came down Gallacher’s side. The MLS announced that the final standings would be decided via points-per-game, which won’t be an issue for Toronto, who currently sit 2^nd in the Eastern Conference and have already qualified for the playoffs.

Loris Karius – Union Berlin

Surprisingly, Karius was named on the bench for Union’s matches in October, with Andreas Luthe preferred in goal.

Taiwo Awoniyi – Union Berlin

Union Berlin got off to a great start in October, with that 4-0 win over Mainz, but Awoniyi did not make it off the bench against his former club. He had better luck in the 1-1 draw with Schalke a few weeks later, entering the fray in the second half. Awoniyi was given 19 minutes as Union drew 1-1 again, this time with SC Freiburg.

Kamil Grabara – AGF Aarhus

Polish goalkeeper Kamil Grabara made his second AGF debut in a 1-1 draw away at Aalborg, a credible result. He kept his first clean sheet of the season as AGF comfortably defeated Horsens 3-0. Grabara tasted defeat for the first time in this spell at AGF, losing 1-0 at home to Copenhagen, courtesy of a penalty.

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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