Liverpool loaned a selection of players to other clubs for the duration of the 2014/15 campaign. Now that the season has concluded and it is setting up to be a busy summer for the Reds, it is worth considering whether recalling any of these loaned players to the first team squad would be worthwhile. Young players who have gained experience at clubs in the lower leagues or playing in other divisions across Europe could be as useful as new signings. This article will review how several of our loaned players performed at their respective clubs.
Luis Alberto
Alberto signed for the Reds in June 2013 from Sevilla where he had come through the youth ranks and appeared for their B team 77 times, scoring 25 goals in the process – roughly equivalent to a goal every 3 games; an impressive return for an attacking midfield player. He then graduated to the Sevilla first team but only made 7 appearances before being loaned to Barcelona B where he performed regularly in the Segunda Division (equivalent to the English championship). For Barcelona B he scored 11 goals in 38 appearances, meaning he finished the season as the team’s second highest scorer; only Gerard Deulofeu scored more goals than Alberto that season.
It was his impressive displays for Barcelona B which persuaded Brendan Rodgers to sign the Andalusian but he found his game time somewhat limited in the 2013/14 campaign due to the prominence of Coutinho and Sterling in the creative midfield roles. Nonetheless, he managed 12 first-team appearances in all competitions and his stand-out moment for the Reds that campaign was his delicate through-ball into the path of Luis Suarez who went on to score his second goal in a 5-0 win against Spurs at White Hart Lane.
Alberto’s lack of game time resulted in his loan move to Malaga for the 2014/15 season where he made 20 appearances in all competitions – including 15 in La Liga in which he scored 2 goals. He performed relatively well during Malaga’s campaign, helping them to finish 9th in the league and to reach the quarter-final of the Copa del Rey. His standout performance was probably his debut, where he scored the only goal in a home win against Athletic Bilbao and was awarded Man of the Match. Alberto will have benefitted from the experience of performing in Spain’s top-flight and working with Malaga’s manager Javi Garcia will also have improved the Spaniard’s game. Whether he can be successful at Liverpool remains to be seen, and I would imagine he would struggle to play much for the first-team, particularly given the fact he plays in a similar position to Coutinho. Nonetheless, Alberto does undoubtedly possess qualities and has the capacity to improve and challenge for a place in the squad. There have, however, been players with similar profiles to Alberto, who have shown potential at Liverpool but have failed to cement a regular place in the team: Dani Pacheco and Suso come to mind. I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if Alberto was loaned out again for the 2015/16 campaign.
Andre Wisdom
It is likely that Andre Wisdom will have a big future at Liverpool, and the club undoubtedly have faith in the defender as he was awarded a 4 year contract on the 26th May. Wisdom signed for the Reds in 2008 from League 1 Bradford City and made his debut under Roy Hodgson’s tenure in a league cup loss to Northampton Town. Wisdom has played for England at various youth levels, captaining the under-17 team which won the 2010 under-17 UEFA European Championship.
With regards to Wisdom being loaned out, it is worth considering his performances over the past two seasons: he played in the Championship for Derby for the duration of the 2013/14 campaign whilst competing in the Premier League for West Brom in the 2014/15 season. Whilst at Derby he was ever-present in the defence with Steve McClaren giving him his debut in a 1-1 draw against Birmingham City. He helped Derby to an impressive 3rd place finish and featured in the Championship play-off final at Wembley – Derby were beaten 1-0 by QPR, courtesy of a Bobby Zamora goal. In total, he featured 38 times for Derby, and the experience of playing in a very competitive division will have aided his game enormously.
Wisdom was loaned to West Brom at the beginning of the 2014/15 campaign, making the transition from Championship to Premier League. He played 26 times for WBA, mainly as a right-back. WBA were managed by Alan Irvine until December when he was replaced by Tony Pulis. Over the duration of his loan spells, Wisdom worked under 3 experienced coaches and this could only have been positive for his development. I believe Wisdom will feature for Liverpool this season – his new contract being indicative of what the club think of him. Wisdom will bring added depth to our squad and will challenge Flanagan and any new recruits for a starting-role. He is strong and powerful but also accomplished in possession, displaying composure and a good range of passing.
Divock Origi
Origi was probably the most high-profile of Liverpool’s loanees of the previous campaign, this publicity precipitating due to some very good displays for Belgium during the World Cup – he scored against Russia, making him the youngest Belgian to score at a World Cup and the first player of Kenyan origin to score in football’s biggest competition.
He was bought from Lille for approximately £10 million, signing a 5-year contract. However, he did not feature for the Reds in the 2014/15 campaign as he was loaned back to Lille to complete another season in the French top-flight. Origi had a mixed campaign, featuring 44 times and scoring 9 goals including a hat-trick against Rennais. However, his displays were often criticised by fans: he was booed after a penalty miss against Wolfsburg and even made the ‘flop team of the year’.
Despite this slightly alarming accolade, Origi does have promising potential. During the 2013/14 campaign he netted 6 goals in 35 appearances and his record for Belgium is also impressive, scoring 3 times in 13 appearances for the first-team and 10 times in 19 games for the under-19s. If Origi is to be a success at Liverpool he needs to replicate the form he has shown in these periods. It is likely he will be a part of the first-team squad in some capacity in the up-coming season, but whether he is a regular starter is uncertain. He is equally competent as a central striker or as a winger and has deadly pace, good close-control and a decent shot. Hopefully he can utilise these qualities in a manner which helps to address the lack of goals that we suffered from in the previous campaign.
João Carlos Teixeira
In my view, Teixeira had the best season of any of our loanees and I would like to see him feature in the first-team squad in the 2015/16 campaign. The Portuguese star was bought from Sporting after impressing against the Reds at youth level and has starred for the reserve team. He was loaned to Brentford in the 2013/14 campaign but only made 2 appearances due to the League 1 team’s misfortunes and hence was called back by Liverpool and played for the reserves for the bulk of that season. He did feature once for the first team, however, coming on in the 82nd minute against Fulham at Craven Cottage in a 3-2 win for the Reds.
Teixeira was loaned to Brighton and Hove Albion for the 2014/15 season in order to gain first-team experience, and he excelled playing in the Championship. He scored 6 goals in 32 league appearances including a brace against Ipswich Town and a further two goals against Birmingham in a thrilling 4-3 win; the first of his strikes in this game was a particularly good goal.
João featured mainly as a creative midfield player and provided Brighton with a different dimension going forward – he stood out in many of his displays in the championship, and, in some cases, actually looked too good to be playing at that level. His efforts were rewarded when he was voted Brighton & Hove Albion’s Young Player of the Year. However, his season was not entirely perfect as in April he broke his leg in a match against Huddersfield and was ruled out for the remainder of the season.
It is likely that Teixeira will feature for the Reds this season when he recovers from his injury and regains match-fitness from playing with the reserves. Despite playing in a position similar to the ones vacated by Coutinho and Lallana, Teixeira has a good chance of at least making the first-team squad and may be utilised in the cup competitions. For us fans, lets hope he does make some appearances this campaign as he is an extremely gifted talent.
Tiago Ilori
Tiago Ilori started his career with Sporting Lisbon where he made 12 appearances for the first-team. Although he plays for Portugal, Ilori was actually born in Hampstead in England and it has been rumoured that when Liverpool signed the defender, the English FA tried to persuade him to commit his international future to England; this perhaps highlights the potential the player has.
Ilori normally plays as a right-sided centre-back and is a commanding figure at the back: strong in the air, reads the game well and is another defender who is an accomplished passer of the ball. He has deployed these traits effectively for both Granada in La Liga and, more recently, for Bordeaux in Ligue 1.
The Portuguese defender completed a loan move to Granada during the 2013/14 campaign, making 9 first-team appearances. He then switched to Bordeaux for the 2014/15 season and featured 12 times for the French club. Ilori has also played 32 times for Portugal at youth level. There is a strong possibility that Ilori will feature for Liverpool at some point in the coming season and I believe the fact he is a right-sided defender benefits the team as apart from Kolo Toure (who is probably past his optimal playing days) there is no player to provide back up to Skrtel, with Dejan Lovern and Sakho being left-sided centre-backs.
During his time at Granada, Ilori produced an excellent performance against Barcelona -winning the Man of the Match award. For Bordeaux, he produced some notable performances against PSG and St.Etienne.
Sebastián Coates:
Whenever I think of Sebastián Coates, it is always his goal against QPR that comes to mind. What a strike it was! But aside from that goal, I’m not sure Liverpool fans really know much about the Uruguayan due to the fact he has only made 12 appearances for the Reds.
Coates was loaned back to the club he began his career with – Nacional – in 2014, playing 5 times for the club from Montevideo before switching back to the Premier League to play for Sunderland. At his time in the North East, Coates played 10 times for Sunderland, and although he had a relatively difficult first-half of the season, Dick Advocaat described him as pivotal to Sunderland’s top-flight survival.
It is hard to judge whether Brendan Rodger’s sees Coates having a future at Liverpool. The fact Rodgers has loaned Coates out for the majority of his tenure at the Reds suggests our manager has not made his mind up with regards to Coates’s future. The Uruguayan does possess some quality, highlighted by the fact that he was deemed the best young player at the 2011 Copa America – a competition which his Uruguay side won.
I do not think it is likely that Coates will be playing for Liverpool next season, and I would not be surprised if his move to Sunderland was made permanent.
Conclusion:
From the players discussed, I think Wisdom, Teixeira, Origi and Ilori will feature throughout the 2015/16 season, and I think it less likely that Luis Alberto and Coates will do likewise. It is also worth pointing out that Iago Aspas was loaned to Sevilla but he is expected to sign permanently for the Andalusians; Oussama Assaidi was loaned to Stoke City before moving permanently to Al-Ahli Dubai and that youngsters Sheyi Ojo and Jerome Sinclair both completed loan stints at Wigan Athletic.
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