With the senior side enjoying a better start to the season than anyone expected, Liverpool’s loan players looked to catch the eye of manager Arne Slot this weekend. With the Reds’ new manager only requiring a small squad, most of the young fringe players were sent out on loan knowing they needed to impress to avoid a similar fate next summer. In this week’s Liverpool Loan Report, a defender continues his goalscoring form, a wing-back helps his side to an important win, and a winger shows his class.
Liverpool Loan Report: Winger Shows Class in Big Win
Ben Doak – Middlesbrough
Ben Doak established himself as Liverpool’s most exciting loan player with two brilliant displays this week. So far this term, the winger has been fun to watch without much of an end product. This week, the 18-year-old showed an improvement to his game as he recorded three assists, First, in a mid-week clash with QPR, Doak showed great skill and speed to beat his man on the right and fire in a cross for Riley McGree to smash home.
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Next, in a 5-1 win over Luton Town, he again assisted the opener- flicking a front post corner through his legs for Delano Burgzong to finish. The 19-year-old made a great run down the right before pulling the ball back for Finn Azaz for Middlesbrough’s third of the afternoon. Two excellent performances have built the winger some momentum he’ll be hoping to carry into next week’s game with Oxford United.
Luca Stephenson – Dundee United
Luca Stephenson netted his third goal of the season as Dundee United recorded an important 3-0 win over Ross County. The 21-year-old opened the scoring with a diving header in the 57th minute. Playing as a winger, the wing-back showed versatility, which is helpful for any manager who is changing things around during a bad run of form. Before the game, his side had gone three matches without a win.
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There was some concern in the 79th minute when Stephenson appeared to go off injured. The 21-year-old will hope to recover before Dundee visit Rangers on November 23.
Rhys Williams – Morecambe
Rhys Williams took another step to improve his fortunes with his second goal in as many weeks as Morecambe beat Harrogate Town 2-1 away from home. The big defender rose the highest in the 37th minute to put his side ahead from a corner. The 23-year-old then defended brilliantly, making six clearances and winning six aerial duels, as he led his side to their first League 2 win of the season.
Lewis Koumas – Stoke City
After an uneventful start against Blackburn Rovers in midweek, Lewis Koumas came off the bench in Stoke City’s 1-1 draw against Millwall. The young winger only managed 13 touches in 36 minutes of action and will need to have more of an impact if he wants to regain his starting place. The youngster is still only 18 and may find his best form towards the end of the campaign as he continues to learn.
Nat Phillips – Derby County
Nat Phillips finally broke into the Derby County starting lineup and helped his side to four important points this week. In the 2-1 win over Coventry City, the 27-year-old only completed eight passes as the Sky Blues had the majority of the ball. The defender was substituted with 14 minutes to go as a result of fatigue from a lack of playing time.
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Against Plymouth Argyle, Phillips showed his aerial prowess, winning all five of his duels as the Rams were frustrated by the visitors. The 27-year-old also completed the full 90 minutes, a first for the season. It’s a week of progress for the Liverpool fan favourite, who had looked set for another term spent on the bench.
Stefan Bajcetic – RB Salzburg
After missing RB Salzburg’s 3-1 win over Feyenoord in the Champions League, Stefan Bajcetic returned to the bench for their Austrian Bundesliga clash with BW Linz. The damage was already done by the time the young midfielder was introduced in the 62nd minute and his team limped towards another disappointing defeat.
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Bajcetic played well in his 28 minutes, completing 90% of his passes and winning 3 of his four ground duels. However, the pressure continues to build for Salzburg, who have dropped to fourth in the table.
Mixed Fortunes For Seven Unused Liverpool Loan Players
Wigan Athletic left-back Luke Chamber will miss “months not weeks” with a bad back injury according to manager Shaun Maloney. Millwall full-back Calum Scanlon has been out with a back injury of his own since September. Giorgi Mamarshvili and Valencia continue to have games postponed due to the floods in Central Eastern Spain. Kaide Gordon, Marcelo Pitaluga, and Fabian Mrozek all continue to be unused by their loan clubs and may be recalled in January.
