Elliott’s stylish farewell & Millar’s playoff hopes dashed – Liverpool FC Loan Watch

May 10, 2021
Jack Lusby

The campaign ended for six Liverpool loanees at the weekend, with few enjoying a truly positive conclusion to their time away from the club, Harvey Elliott aside.

Every season, the Reds send out a number of their young hopefuls and fringe figures in the pursuit of regular first-team football.

The objective is either to prove themselves worthy of a long-term role at Anfield or garner interest from elsewhere ahead of a permanent move away from Liverpool.

Of the six who saw their seasons conclude on Saturday and Sunday, the majority will harbour doubts over a return to Merseyside, with Elliott perhaps the only player assured of a chance under Jurgen Klopp.

The 18-year-old ended his season with a brilliant seventh goal for Blackburn, chipping Birmingham goalkeeper Connal Trueman on the way to a 5-2 victory.

Blackburn finished 15th in the Championship as a result, with three Liverpool loanees enjoying higher placings with their respective clubs.

Harry Wilson started for Cardiff in their season closer at home to Rotherham, but could not add to his sublime hat-trick from the previous weekend as he played 77 minutes of a 1-1 draw that saw the Bluebirds end up in eighth.

It was Sheyi Ojo who replaced Wilson with 13 minutes left to play, with the 23-year-old reduced to a substitutes’ role at best in each of his final nine games in south Wales.

Elsewhere, Sepp van den Berg played the full 90 minutes at right wing-back in his final outing for Preston, making his 15th consecutive start for the club in a 2-1 win at Nottingham Forest.

North End finished two places and four points above Blackburn, in 13th.

In League One, Liam Millar started and stayed on throughout Charlton’s 1-0 victory over Hull, but with Oxford United thrashing Burton 4-0 at the same time, they were edged out of the playoff places.

Adam Lewis had already seen his loan at Plymouth terminated early due to injury, with Argyle finishing 18th in the third tier.

Away from the Football League, Vitezslav Jaros suffered the first loss of his time with St Patrick’s Athletic in the League of Ireland Premier Division, conceding twice in a 2-1 defeat to Dublin rivals Shamrock Rovers.

Kamil Grabara enjoyed a better game between the sticks for AGF Aarhus, keeping a clean sheet in a 1-0 victory over Randers, while Anderson Arroyo played the full game as Salamanca thrashed Real Oviedo B 4-0.