It’s a regular occurrence now to see many of Liverpool’s youngsters go out on loan to the Championship and gain experience in one of Europe’s most exciting leagues. With clubs, including Liverpool, now starting to finalise their summer transfer plans, we might start to see rumours regarding loan spells for next season.
Could Derby County be a destination next season?
It was almost a nightmare season for Derby County after they narrowly avoided relegation. Throughout the latter half of the campaign, Championship relegation odds had placed them as one of the favourites to go down perhaps showing how expectations had fallen at the club.
Derby are of course managed by Wayne Rooney who, despite being record goalscorer for United and England, struggled to get them regularly scoring. He will be looking to strengthen their squad but with finances expected to be tight, the loan market might be where Rooney looks for goals. Will he give his old rivals at Anfield a call?
The future of Harvey Elliot
The 18-year-old midfielder already has a Premier League medal after appearing 8 times for Liverpool during the victorious Premier League campaign in 2019/2020 and he spent the 2020/2021 season on loan at Blackburn Rovers, impressing everyone with his performances. He was even nominated for EFL Young Player of the Season.
Harvey Elliott provided 11 assists for Blackburn in the 2020-21 Championship season, at least twice as many as any other player at the club.
He only turned 18 last month. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/hoZeI3LXvW
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) May 8, 2021
Elliot could well be out on loan again and might find himself at the higher end of the Championship. One of the teams that end up missing out on promotion through the play-offs might well look at Elliot to improve their chances next season. The English Championship odds indicate that many expect either Bournemouth or Brentford to get promoted. The loser could end up being Elliot’s destination for next season – that said, his successes appear to have put him in the frame for a first-team spot.
Leighton Clarkson will also be looking for first-team experience
Clarkson has played a few times for the Reds first team but will need more experience to develop as a player. A few clubs in the Championship might be looking to take a punt on the young English midfielder. In February 2020, he played in the FA Cup match for Liverpool against Shrewsbury, the youngest ever starting 11 in the club’s history.
Clarkson and Elliot won’t be the only young players looking to go out on loan if they can’t nab at least a regular spot on the bench. Thomas Hill signed a new contract in August 2020 but has only appeared in a single match for the first team, so a loan move would also be beneficial for him.
Previous successful loan spells
There have been many players that have come back from a loan spell and then gone to shine in the Premier League for their parent club. A recent example is Mason Mount, who performed well at Derby County and is now an important part of a Chelsea side that is through to the final of the Champions League.
However, some players might sadly find that their level is the Championship. Rhian Brewster was seen as a promising youngster and even appeared on the bench in the 2019 Champions League final. He spent part of the following season on loan at Swansea City and impressed, scoring 11 goals in 22 appearances. This form couldn’t win him a starting berth under Jurgen Klopp but did persuade Sheffield United to sign him for around £24 million. This season has famously been a failure for Brewster as he has failed to score for the relegated Blades.
It will be interesting to see which players leave Anfield temporarily this summer and how they utilise this experience for the benefit of their career.
