Time will tell but, so far, jury is out on the loan stars
WHO MIGHT STEP UP AND PUSH ALBION SEASON ON?
EVERY year, at all levels of the Football League, a number of loan players emerge as stars in waiting as they light up their time with a club.
By contrast, things do not work out for another clutch of loan players, who end up going back to their clubs with their careers still in limbo.
There is always an element of a gamble with a loan. The success or otherwise of a move might be down to the drive to succeed and improve of the player concerned or he might find he just does not fit in with the style or demands of the team he joins.
It is fair to say that, so far this season, others clubs’ loan players are standing out more than Burton Albion’s five picks – although there is plenty of time for that to change.
Last season, the Brewers went through 10 loans. Five came in while Jake Buxton was manager and all five went back to their parent clubs, with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink bringing in five more.
Of Buxton’s five, Sam Hughes, from Leicester City was the pick of the bunch and unlucky to injure his cruciate ligament in December.
Indiana Vassilev flattered to deceive and returned to Aston Villa, subsequently going to Cheltenham Town in League Two, where he also did not score but being part of a title-winning squad.
He is in his native United States this season, on loan with Inter Miami.
Niall Ennis, from Wolves, briefly looked quick and promising without managing a goal and subsequently joined Plymouth Argyle. Named as a starter for their first League match of the season, he pulled out with a hamstring strain and has yet to play for them. Ryan Hardie replaced him on that day and is now one of the star men in table-topping side. Jack Roles, from Tottenham Hotspur, scarcely got a look-in. Released by Spurs in the summer, he is now trying again with Crystal Palace, playing so far for their Under-23s. Teddy SharmanLowe was the fifth, a Brewers academy goalkeeper loaned back to the club after signing for Chelsea. Hasselbaink’s loan additions played a big role in keeping Burton in League
One.
Hayden Carter starred in defence and showed exactly what the loan system is about, returning to Blackburn Rovers and now getting a regular game in their Championship squad.
Sean Clare, coming in from Oxford United, played a big part in midfield and has since made a move back to his boyhood club, Charlton Athletic.
Useful smaller roles were played by Ryan Broom, now on a seasonlong loan with Plymouth, and Josh Earl, the Preston North End fullback, who has now broken into the Preston first team and scored his first goal for them against QPR a
Hayden Carter starred in defence and showed exactly what the loan system is all about
fortnight ago.
Goalkeeper Dillon Barnes was injured for much of his time with the Brewers and remains with parent club QPR.
Last season, it was arguably Lincoln City who made the best use of the loan system in League One, although they lost in the the play-off final.
Attacking midfielder Brennan Johnson starred for them and enhanced his career, returning to Nottingham Forest to feature more regularly in their first team.
Defender TJ Eyoma had two loan spells from Spurs, joined Lincoln fully in the summer and looks a good prospect at 21.
Goalkeeper Alex Palmer had a season-long loan from West Bromwich Albion and made 58 appearances for the Imps last season but it has not helped him get close to the West Brom first team yet – he has made one Carabao Cup appearance, when Arsenal put six past him.
So what of Burton’s five so far this season? Goalkeeper Ellery Balcombe, from Brentford, has made only two Football League Trophy appearances and not really suggested in either that he is close to replacing first choice keeper Ben Garratt.
Hughes is back for a second loan spell but still completing rehab from
his injury. There will be high hopes for his success in the second half of the season.
Attacking midfielder Jacob Maddox was an early arrival on a season-long loan from Vitoria Guimaraes in Portugal but a promising debut against Shrewsbury Town was cut short by injury and he is building his match fitness now, with a couple of brief appearances. He looks a very promising player.
Harry Chapman, of Blackburn Rovers, caught the eye in an excellent loan spell with Shrewsbury Town last season and Hasselbaink hopes he can light up Burton’s midfield in the same way.
So far, there have been some good moments but Chapman has yet to take a game by the scruff of its neck for Burton.
Daniel Jebbison was the one half of the division wanted, the 18-yearold wonderkid from Sheffield United, who chose the Brewers for his season-long loan because he wanted to learn from Hasselbaink.
The hope remains that the Canadian-born striker will prove to be the real deal. Hasselbaink is nursing him along for now and he scored a brilliant goal against Portsmouth to open his account, while he has also squandered at least half-a-dozen good chances.
As long as the chances keep coming – and if the Brewers can find a little more consistency overall – Jebbison could be the coup who points them to a successful season.
For now, though, there is no instant success. The loan story for Albion this season is a slow burner.