Loan watch: How our 28 players fared in 2022/23

Over the course of the season, we had 28 players feature on loan for clubs across the UK and further afield as they aimed to gain experience or regular first-team football, and there were plenty of success stories.

The player who made the biggest impression was certain Folarin Balogun, who took Ligue 1 by storm during his season at Reims. The striker began by scoring five times in his first six games, and barely stopped throughout the rest of the campaign, the highlight was hitting a hat-trick in a 4-2 win over Lorient in February.

He ended the season with three in his final four games to take his tally to 21 - finishing joint-fourth in the league’s scoring charts. To cap a fine season, Flo has recently received a call-up to the USA squad for their Concacaf Nations League fixtures.

We had two other players feature in the French top-flight, and Nuno Tavares was also a frequent scorer in the early weeks of the campaign as he scored three in his first four games for Marseille, and ultimately ended up with six to his name across 31 league games. He helped his side to a third-place finish with some decent displays on the left wing, and featured regularly in l’OM’s Champions League campaign.

Meanwhile, Nicolas Pepe found the net eight times for Nice, which included a spell of five in 10 games before the World Cup break, before injury issues plagued the second half of the campaign, with just nine games coming in 2023. He did though play his part in the run to the Europa Conference League quarter-finals, netting twice in the competition.

We had a host of other players who also impressed across the continent during the campaign. Arthur Okonkwo switched from being on loan at Crewe Alexandra for a stint in Austria with Sturm Graz, and returned to north London with a cup winner’s medal after he performed heroics in their run to the final, where they beat Rapid Vienna. Sturm also finished second in the table and secured a spot in the Champions League qualifiers.

Pablo Mari also played a huge role in helping Monza easily achieve safety in their first season back in Serie A, despite suffering injuries following a stabbing attack back in October. He recovered to return in January and put in some impressive displays in their backline, to eventually see his team finish 11th in Italy’s top tier. 

Alex Runarsson kept six clean sheets in 32 games for Alanyaspor - as well as providing two assists - while Nikolaj Moller found the back of the net five times for Den Bosch, however an injury-hit time in the Netherlands saw Mika Biereth net twice in 12 Eredivisie games for RKC Waalwijk. 

Marcelo Flores meanwhile made 13 appearances for Real Oviedo in the Spanish Segunda, the same league that Miguel Azeez featured in for Ibiza before switching to Wigan Athletic in January.

Back on these shores, we had a trio of players who featured for other Premier League teams. Ainsley Maitland-Niles played 26 times in all competitions for Southampton, but despite a run to the semi-finals of the League Cup a turbulent campaign saw the Saints tumble out of the top-flight, ending an 11-year stay.

Sambi Lokonga’s time at Crystal Palace began brightly under Patrick Vieira as he featured in seven straight games before the Gunners legend was given the boot, but the Belgian international found gametime harder to come after Roy Hodgson was parachuted in to successfully see them avoid the drop. There were no such concerns for Cedric though during his five-month stint at Fulham where he played eight times for a Cottagers side who managed a top-half Premier League finish for the first time since 2011/12. 

Another player who enjoyed an excellent season was Auston Trusty, who was voted Birmingham City’s Player of the Season after making a huge impression at St Andrews. The centre-back thrived in the Championship, missing just two league games, scoring four goals and assisting twice, and his rock-solid displays helped catch the eye at international level too, as he won his first cap for the USA against Grenada in March.

Brooke Norton-Cuffy also had a standout campaign in the second tier after joining Coventry City in January following five months at Rotherham United. Brooke went on to play in every game for the Sky Blues as their late-season form saw them achieve a spot in the Championship play-off final, which saw them defeated by Luton Town on penalties.

Tim Akinola also got the chance to play at Wembley this season as he was a regular in the Chesterfield side that earned a play-off spot courtesy of a third-place finish in the National League. However, his 31st and final game saw them lose to Notts County on penalties at the national stadium.

Three players though would suffer heartbreak of a different form after seeing their sides drop into the third tier. Charlie Patino became a fan favourite at Blackpool, scoring twice and providing four assists during his time at Bloomfield Road, but was forced to play under three managers as they finished in the drop-zone.

Having struggled to find gametime at Sparta Rotterdam in the first half of the campaign, Omar Rekik regularly featured for Wigan Athletic in his five-month stint at Wigan Athletic but again his efforts were in vain as they fell into League One. He was joined at the DW Stadium by Azeez who would feature just twice for the Latics.

Marquinhos would also get a taste of life in the Championship when he pitched up at Norwich City on transfer deadline day, and would score on his debut for the Canaries in a 2-0 win against Cardiff City, but the Norfolk side’s form tailed off and they missed out on the play-offs. However, he was selected for the Brazil squad for the under-20 World Cup where he put in some excellent displays in Argentina.

In League One, Tyreece John-Jules started promisingly at Ipswich Town and would score three goals in 21 appearances for the Tractor Boys to kick-start their promotion push before a knee injury cruelly ended his campaign in October, while at the other end of the table, Nathan Butler-Oyedeji’s 11-game spell at Accrington Stanley ended in relegation.

Three players were also involved in the scrap for survival in League Two. After spending the first half of the campaign in the National League with Bromley where he kept three clean sheets in 13 games, Tom Smith found himself between the posts at a crucial time for Colchester United and registered a trio of shutouts in his first three games to help them claim seven points and pull themselves from danger.

Mazeed Ogungbo’s reunion with former academy boss Kevin Betsy didn’t last long after he was dismissed in October, but they managed to just avoid the drop by finishing 22nd in the table, meaning Taylor Foran’s Hartlepool United would fall into non-league, with the defender making 11 appearances during his time with the Pools.

Ovie Ejeheri saw his season turned upside down when after impressing by keeping 12 clean sheets in 25 appearances for Chelmsford City in the National League South, he moved to SJK Seinajoki in Finland. He has since managed another eight clean sheets to help his side to remain unbeaten this campaign, and was named in the Veikkausliiga Team of the Month for May. Another keeper who got a game on loan was Brian Okonkwo, who made a solitary appearance for Hitchin Town of the Southern League Premier Division Central on an emergency loan.

Up in Scotland, Alex Kirk made a good impression at Ayr United by playing his part in their play-off push, despite missing a large chunk of the run-in through injury, while Ryan Alebiousu helped Kilmarnock stave off relegation by finishing in 10th spot in the Scottish Premiership.

Our loanees' stats in 2022/23

 

*season still in progress