The Loan Players Situation - Written By Matthew Hill
The loan market has proved to be extremely important for Gillingham’s men’s team this season. Over the course of the campaign, seven players have joined on a temporary basis – although not all of them are at the club anymore.
Whilst Mikael Ndjoli and Alex Jakubiak have both been and gone since the season began, Alfie Jones, Thomas O’Connor, Jordan Roberts, Jordan Graham and Oliver Lee are still very much part of the current setup.
With the size of the squad being quite small, however, all seven loan players have played their part as either regular starters, or consistently being called upon from the bench. But, with the club being so reliant on loan signings and with less than 10 games of the regular season remaining, if we ever get there, the topic of conversation is turning to what the squad will look like next season. The debate then turns to what will happen with the current loan players.
We are going to start off by looking at the two loanees from Southampton. Alfie Jones has been a vital member of the first team squad ever since he signed on loan in July 2019, starting 30 of the club’s 35 league matches to date. A lot of Southampton fans were surprised at Jones’ loan move, hoping he would actually be pushing for a place in the Saints’ first team squad. Instead, the 22-year-old has been a vital member of Gillingham’s much improved defensive unit, mainly playing in front of the defence, although he can also play and has played as a centre back. Jones’ loan deal runs until the end of the of the season, with his contract at Southampton running until the end of 2020/2021 – with only one year left on his current deal, the Saints are likely to want to give Jones a chance at a slightly higher level.
The Gills’ second Southampton loanee is 20-year-old Thomas O’Connor, whose current loan spell is his first experience of senior football. He’s had to adjust very quickly to League One, but has been rewarded with his first call up to the Republic of Ireland U21 squad. O’Connor has provided much needed balance and versatility, playing either at left back, on the left of a midfield diamond, or even as a defensive midfielder in front of the two centre backs. O’Connor is able to fill in at several positions and contributes to the defence as well as going forward – in his fifth game for the club, he scored the equaliser in the Gills’ 1-1 draw at Bristol Rovers after finding himself in the oppositions box following an attacking run. O’Connor’s inexperience has been exposed at times, such as in the Blues’ last game at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland, when he gave the ball away on the halfway line, allowing Kyle Lafferty to run through and score, but he has been an impressive addition. Just like his Saints teammate Jones, O’Connor will see his loan spell finish at the end of this season, with his Southampton deal expiring in June 2021. Southampton will again be looking to loan O’Connor out, but whether that will be at Gillingham or another club is unclear.
Gillingham’s first signing of the January window was Jordan Roberts, who is currently on loan from fellow League One side Ipswich Town. Roberts wasn’t featuring regularly for the Tractor Boys, so was allowed to leave on loan during the window. Roberts has played either in an attacking midfield role, as a winger, or as one of the front two at Priestfield. In just his third game for the Gills, he scored both goals in the 2-2 draw at Rochdale, and he’s also assisted two goals since his loan move. His contracts at both Gillingham and Ipswich finish at the end of the current season, so he may well become a free agent in the summer.
Gillingham’s second loan signing in January was another Jordan, Jordan Graham, who is on loan from Wolves. Graham has made two starts and five appearances from the bench since his move and was building up some much-needed time before the season was suspended. Graham has played just over 20 games in the Championship, predominantly for Wolves between 2014 and 2018, so has clearly got the ability to play at a higher level. Both his contract at the Gills and at his parent club come to an end in the summer, so Graham will be looking to impress to either earn a new contract at Wolves, or, perhaps the more likely option, help him find a new club.
The final loanee currently at the club is Olly Lee, who is in from Scottish Premiership side Hearts. After signing at the end of August, the attacking midfielder made an immediate impact, scoring two goals on his debut, albeit in a 5-0 win against strugglers Bolton. Since then, he has gone on to score four more goals and register five assists, providing some much-needed creativity going forward. Lee’s loan deal expires at the end of the season with his deal with Hearts running until June 2021 – therefore, next season, he’ll have the aim of either earning more game time at Hearts or seeking another move away; whether that be at the Gills, however, on loan or permanently, is unclear.
All of Gillingham’s men’s loanees have certainly contributed to the side’s good season and have helped the club this campaign. On the whole, they will all have impressed their parent clubs as they near their returns to them in the summer. It’s probable manager Steve Evans would welcome back all five next year in one capacity or another – whether he will get them, though, is a different matter.
The loan market has proved to be extremely important for Gillingham’s men’s team this season. Over the course of the campaign, seven players have joined on a temporary basis – although not all of them are at the club anymore.
Whilst Mikael Ndjoli and Alex Jakubiak have both been and gone since the season began, Alfie Jones, Thomas O’Connor, Jordan Roberts, Jordan Graham and Oliver Lee are still very much part of the current setup.
With the size of the squad being quite small, however, all seven loan players have played their part as either regular starters, or consistently being called upon from the bench. But, with the club being so reliant on loan signings and with less than 10 games of the regular season remaining, if we ever get there, the topic of conversation is turning to what the squad will look like next season. The debate then turns to what will happen with the current loan players.
We are going to start off by looking at the two loanees from Southampton. Alfie Jones has been a vital member of the first team squad ever since he signed on loan in July 2019, starting 30 of the club’s 35 league matches to date. A lot of Southampton fans were surprised at Jones’ loan move, hoping he would actually be pushing for a place in the Saints’ first team squad. Instead, the 22-year-old has been a vital member of Gillingham’s much improved defensive unit, mainly playing in front of the defence, although he can also play and has played as a centre back. Jones’ loan deal runs until the end of the of the season, with his contract at Southampton running until the end of 2020/2021 – with only one year left on his current deal, the Saints are likely to want to give Jones a chance at a slightly higher level.
The Gills’ second Southampton loanee is 20-year-old Thomas O’Connor, whose current loan spell is his first experience of senior football. He’s had to adjust very quickly to League One, but has been rewarded with his first call up to the Republic of Ireland U21 squad. O’Connor has provided much needed balance and versatility, playing either at left back, on the left of a midfield diamond, or even as a defensive midfielder in front of the two centre backs. O’Connor is able to fill in at several positions and contributes to the defence as well as going forward – in his fifth game for the club, he scored the equaliser in the Gills’ 1-1 draw at Bristol Rovers after finding himself in the oppositions box following an attacking run. O’Connor’s inexperience has been exposed at times, such as in the Blues’ last game at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland, when he gave the ball away on the halfway line, allowing Kyle Lafferty to run through and score, but he has been an impressive addition. Just like his Saints teammate Jones, O’Connor will see his loan spell finish at the end of this season, with his Southampton deal expiring in June 2021. Southampton will again be looking to loan O’Connor out, but whether that will be at Gillingham or another club is unclear.
Gillingham’s first signing of the January window was Jordan Roberts, who is currently on loan from fellow League One side Ipswich Town. Roberts wasn’t featuring regularly for the Tractor Boys, so was allowed to leave on loan during the window. Roberts has played either in an attacking midfield role, as a winger, or as one of the front two at Priestfield. In just his third game for the Gills, he scored both goals in the 2-2 draw at Rochdale, and he’s also assisted two goals since his loan move. His contracts at both Gillingham and Ipswich finish at the end of the current season, so he may well become a free agent in the summer.
Gillingham’s second loan signing in January was another Jordan, Jordan Graham, who is on loan from Wolves. Graham has made two starts and five appearances from the bench since his move and was building up some much-needed time before the season was suspended. Graham has played just over 20 games in the Championship, predominantly for Wolves between 2014 and 2018, so has clearly got the ability to play at a higher level. Both his contract at the Gills and at his parent club come to an end in the summer, so Graham will be looking to impress to either earn a new contract at Wolves, or, perhaps the more likely option, help him find a new club.
The final loanee currently at the club is Olly Lee, who is in from Scottish Premiership side Hearts. After signing at the end of August, the attacking midfielder made an immediate impact, scoring two goals on his debut, albeit in a 5-0 win against strugglers Bolton. Since then, he has gone on to score four more goals and register five assists, providing some much-needed creativity going forward. Lee’s loan deal expires at the end of the season with his deal with Hearts running until June 2021 – therefore, next season, he’ll have the aim of either earning more game time at Hearts or seeking another move away; whether that be at the Gills, however, on loan or permanently, is unclear.
All of Gillingham’s men’s loanees have certainly contributed to the side’s good season and have helped the club this campaign. On the whole, they will all have impressed their parent clubs as they near their returns to them in the summer. It’s probable manager Steve Evans would welcome back all five next year in one capacity or another – whether he will get them, though, is a different matter.
Comments
Post a Comment