It was a typically mixed week of fortunes for Liverpool’s loanees, but Ryan Fulton and Lloyd Jones impressed with improved form at their current clubs.
Ryan Fulton enjoyed an excellent week at Chesterfield, marking his recall to the team with two wins from two games.
After being dropped last weekend, the youngster was reinstated for the trip to MK Dons in midweek, and he proved his worth helping the Spireites to a much-needed 3-2 win.
Fulton could do little about either goal conceded, and he made some important saves, helping to bring a run of eight straight defeats to an end with a first victory in 11 league matches.
And the young stopper capped off a much improved week by helping Chesterfield to a second successive 3-2 win on Saturday, this time over Bristol Rovers.
The ‘keeper again could not be blamed for either goal, beaten by two sharp finishes, and he provided a much more confident figure between the sticks for the relegation battlers, boosted by a week of successes.
Lloyd Jones also enjoyed an unbeaten week at Swindon, helping the Robins to four points from a possible six.
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Jones kept his starting place against Southend on Tuesday despite his recent struggles, and he enjoyed an improved evening as his side earned a 1-1 draw.
Starting at centre-back in a back four, the 20-year-old was more assured in his defending, and he competed well in a physical battle against Southend’s aggressive forward line to help his side to a useful point.
Positively, Jones built on a more assured display by producing another strong performance to help Swindon to a clean sheet in a 1-0 win over high-flying Bradford on Saturday.
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The defender provided a tough presence in the Robins’ back-line, putting his body on the line to make some important blocks and tackles, and he also impressed with his ball-playing ability, making for a much more positive week for Jones.
Sam Hart made a welcome return from injury this weekend for Port Vale, after missing the midweek game with Oldham.
The left-back returned to the starting XI against Shrewsbury in an unfamiliar right midfield role, and somewhat unsurprisingly, he struggled to impose himself on proceedings and picked up a booking before being withdrawn after just 53 minutes on his comeback.
In League Two, Jack Dunn’s loan at Morecambe, which was meant to run until January, came to a premature end this week.
Reasons as to why this has happened remain unclear, but the striker, who netted six times and laid on one assist in 18 appearances for the Shrimps, is now back at Anfield where he is likely to feature as part of Michael Beale’s under-23 squad.
With Adam Bogdan injured and Danny Ward not in action until Monday, Ryan Kent was the only Championship loanee ready for action over the weekend.
But Kent was, perhaps somewhat fortunately, an unused substitute for Barnsley on Friday night, watching his side’s heavy 5-2 defeat to Nottingham Forest from the bench – at least giving him hope of an instant return to the starting team.
In the Premier League, Jon Flanagan was an unused substitute twice for Burnley this week, watching the Clarets’ 4-0 defeat to West Brom on Monday night and 2-1 loss to Man City from the bench.
It proved another unrewarding week for Liverpool’s European loanees, with Andre Wisdom again the only man to feature.
The defender endured a bittersweet night on Thursday for Red Bull Salzburg, as he made his return to the starting team for their Europa League draw with Krasnodar – a result that saw them exit the competition.
Positively, the Reds defender played the full 90 minutes of the 1-1 stalemate, turning in a steady defensive performance at right-back, but he was denied the perfect return as his side conceded a late equaliser with five minutes to go, which condemned Wisdom’s side to a group stage exit.
After a solid display, Wisdom retained his starting shirt for Salzburg’s clash with Admira on Sunday afternoon, and played the full 90 minutes despite completing the whole game in the Europa League draw.
Wisdom enjoyed a rare outing in his natural centre-back role on the league return, and playing as the left-side central defender he produced another solid overall performance, despite being unable to prevent his side slipping to an undeserved 1-0 loss.
Lazar Markovic endured a frustrating week of no game time at Sporting, returning to matchday involvement but twice being left as an unused substitute against Real Madrid in the Champions League and in a 1-0 win over Boavista on Saturday.
Taiwo Awoniyi was frustrated in his hopes for a return to NEC Nijmegen’s starting XI, with the Nigerian unused for the second week running in his side’s 3-2 win over FC Twente, and Allan Rodrigues also watched Hertha Berlin’s 2-1 win over Mainz05 from the bench.
Finally, Ward will be in action on Monday night as Huddersfield take on an Adam Bogdan-less Wigan, which you can see live on Sky Sports One, with kick-off at 7:45pm.
Injuries
Bogdan’s season, and loan spell at Wigan, is cruelly over after it turned out the Hungarian tore his ACL in his right knee after being stretchered off last weekend against Barnsley.
Liverpool’s Loaned Men This Week
- Markovic – Sporting – Unused vs. Borussia Dortmund & Boavista
- Flanagan – Burnley – Unused sub vs. West Brom & Man City
- Wisdom – Red Bull Salzburg – Played 90mins vs. Krasnodar & Admira
- Ward – Huddersfield – To play on Monday night vs. Wigan
- Bogdan – Wigan – Season over due to ACL injury
- Kent – Barnsley – Unused sub vs. Nottingham Forest
- Jones – Swindon – Played 90mins vs. Southend & Bradford
- Fulton – Chesterfield – Played 90mins vs. MK Dons & Bristol Rovers
- Hart – Port Vale – Played 53mins vs. Shrewsbury
- Dunn – Morecambe – Returned to Liverpool early from six-month loan
- Awoniyi – NEC Nijmegen – Unused sub vs. FC Twente
- Allan – Hertha Berlin – Unused sub vs. Mainz 05
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