The phrase ‘never fall in love with a loan player’ is heard throughout the football leagues all the time.
Many times have fans failed to keep to this merit; however, some players show their capabilities to spark joy and belief into a fanbase.
Examples of some successful loans in the EFL over the years consist of the likes of Tammy Abraham at Aston Villa in the 18/19 season, or Callum Doyle at Coventry in 22/23, and even more recently with Louie Barry at Stockport this season before his recall and loan out again to Hull City.
Loan moves are often designed for players to make an impact within a side – sounds pretty simple I know – but ultimately, they are in that team to enhance the performance of the squad.
More often than not, loan moves are made with sides that are in a higher division than the team the player is going out on loan to, often agreeing to give them more playing time than they would likely receive at their parent club.
So, with this in mind, this article is going to give you three players, one from each division in the EFL, that could have this ‘never fall in love with a loan player’ feel to them.
EFL Championship: Enzo Le Fée (Sunderland)
The French midfielder joined Sunderland in January on loan from Serie A outfit Roma six months after his £23 million move to the Italian capital on an initial loan move, with an obligation to buy him if the Black Cats earn promotion to the Premier League.
He offers excitement to supporters with his touch and tease on the ball, and although his numbers might not look sensational around his start to life at the Stadium of Light, with only two goal contributions in eight matches; he offers versatility in the midfield and wider areas.
At only 24, this can help cement his position across the pitch for the Black Cats, making his future beyond this season look promising.
This could prove to be a fitting move all around for Sunderland; Le Fée has seen some of his best days in football at Lorient in France under current boss Regis Le Bris. Additionally, the aim of the loan move is clear with the fans and the player himself, with Le Fée; saying in a BBC interview back in February – that trying to help Sunderland win promotion to the Premier League is the “perfect project” to reignite his career.
This does however bring forward that dreaded feeling of ‘what if’. If Sunderland fail to get promoted, can or will they sign him? And with the impression that he has already made amongst the fanbase, he does give the impression of ‘never fall in love with a loan player’.
EFL League One: Caleb Taylor (Wycombe Wanderers)
Caleb Taylor has spent the majority of the season on loan with Wycombe from West Brom. The English centre half had a spell in January seeing his recall following his good form at the Chairboys, before eventually being loaned out again for the rest of the season at Adams Park.
It is slightly harder to use certain stats to prove how successful a defender has been, certainly in comparison to an attacker, but Taylor has impressed on a statistical level throughout his loan spell. This is evident through his pass accuracy in progressive passes, at 82.2%.
Although fairly common to ‘build up’ a signing, the importance of bringing a key element of Wycombe’s defence back for the rest of the season, after a lightning first half of the season, simply cannot be understated.
It is very obvious that both Wycombe and West Brom rate the young English defender highly; and he clearly has had a positive impact upon the Wycombe defence and can lead that feeling to the fanbase of that loan player they fall in love with.
EFL League Two: George Abbott (Notts County)
George Abbott has had a great start to life out on loan in Nottingham with Notts County. The on-loan Spurs man is versatile across the midfield, primarily used in a more defensive role and has racked up an impressive 2,650 minutes so far this season across 31 matches.
Notts County sit 4th in the League Two table with promotion a real possibility as they enter the business end of the season, and Abbott has been a vital part of that, contributing to 8 goals this season.
Statistically, the midfield man has impressed, registering an 86.4% pass success rate with 43.1 successful passes per 90.
His versatility is a key aspect for Notts County, having lined up in multiple positions across the season, including defensive midfield, attacking midfield and even on the right flank. And with the season coming to a close, he would be considered a big miss should the Magpies get promoted.
This is therefore a clear argument as to why he could become a player which meets that old cliche of ‘never falling in love with a loan’.
Honourable Mentions:
There are a multitude of players across the EFL, pointing out the obvious; but many factors went into consideration when compiling a shortlist of players. Some of these factors are, impact on the squad, career history, statistical data and fan opinion.
This obviously meant that some player when compiling this three-man list, will have missed the final cut.
Some of these names from EFL loans are:
- Nathan Lowe (Walsall)
- George Hall (Walsall)
- Louie Barry (Stockport)
- Charlie Kelman (Leyton Orient)
- Josh Stokes (Cambridge)
- Adam Armstrong (West Brom)
- Nikola Katic (Plymouth)
If you have read through this article, hopefully you will have gathered an idea about what a loan player is designed to do, and ultimately why they help a fanbase ‘fall in love’ with them as a player, and maybe even inspire you to have a look out for these players in the future.
