Apologies for missing last week’s loan report, I was away in Germany, but here’s a bumper catch-up one for those of you wondering how Cuco Martina’s getting on in Holland or what Yannick Bolasie’s been up to in Belgium! Enjoy:
Serie A – Italy
Kevin Mirallas (Fiorentina)
The Belgian was out of the squad for both the 3-3 league draw with Inter and the Coppa Italia draw with Atalanta which ended in the same scoreline, with a calf injury. Mirallas returned to the squad for the 3-1 league defeat to Atalanta but didn’t make it off the bench.
La Liga – Spain
Sandro Ramirez (Real Sociedad)
Sandro popped up all over the park during a 0-0 draw with Girona having started the game on the right wing, winning six of his eight duels but not having any luck from four crosses.
He switched to the left for the 2-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid, very strangely making the exact same amount of passes with the exact same accuracy of the previous game (26 and 81% respectively), but did manage four key passes and five accurate crosses from ten. He won ten of his 17 duels in an energetic performance, and had five shots, all of which were off target though.
Super Lig – Turkey
Henry Onyekuru (Galatasaray)
Onyekuru played on the right of the Gala attack for a 1-0 win over Akhisarspor, getting four shots away, one of which was on target and one hit the woodwork. Much of his side’s attacks came down the other flank, though, and the Nigerian was replaced after 86 minutes.
He then came on for the final fifteen minutes of the Turkish Cup game with Hatayspor in a much-changed side with the score at 2-2, but couldn’t make a positive impact as the match finished 4-2 to the second-division opposition.
Back in the league, Onyekuru was on the left wing for the 1-1 draw with BB Erzurumspor and didn’t get up to much despite a couple of shots and one key pass, with the majority of the action again coming down Sofiane Feghouli’s side on the opposite flank.
Premier Liga – Russia
Nikola Vlasic (CSKA Moscow)
Vlasic was finally back in league action after a huge winter break packed with friendlies, and played on the right wing for a 2-0 defeat at Arsenal Tula. The Croat had a couple of shots on target and made one key pass but it was a relatively quiet day otherwise by his standards. Bring him back into the middle!
Eredivisie – Netherlands
Cuco Martina (Feyenoord)
Cuco’s had a busy couple of weeks as well, and played at right-back for a 1-1 draw at PSV Eindhoven, making six clearances before being moved back to centre-half for both the 3-0 defeat to Ajax and the 4-0 win over Emmen.
He won seven of eight duels in the Ajax game to be fair as well as hitting seven accurate long balls of ten, and made a total of 126 passes over the two games he played at centre-half last week with an average of 92% accuracy. Involved.
First Division A – Belgium
Yannick Bolasie (Anderlecht)
Bolasie continued his impressive form against Club Brugge, scoring both goals in a 2-2 draw from the left wing. He stayed out on the left for the 2-1 win over KSC Lokeren, and was booked after half an hour.
The winger was asked about his future this week and a possible permanent move to Belgium, but admitted he sees his future in the Premier League. Should we keep him?
Super League – Switzerland
Shani Tarashaj (Grasshoppers)
Tarahaj wasn’t included in the squad to face FC Thun in a 1-1 draw but did come off the bench for the final 20 minutes against FC Luzern the following week, after all the goals of a 3-1 defeat had already gone in.
Scottish Championship
Shayne Lavery (Falkirk)
Lavery stayed on the bench during the 1-1 draw against Dundee United before not making the squad for the draw with Greenock Morton by the same scoreline.
Premier League
Oumar Niasse (Cardiff City)
Niasse was ineligible to play against his parent club as the Toffees came away with a 3-0 victory, before not having his best day during the 2-0 defeat to Wolves. He was paired up front with Kenneth Zohore but ended up drifting out to the left wing for much of the game, finding no luck through the middle. He was dispossessed five times and only had one shot which was blocked before coming off with fifteen minutes left on the clock.
Championship
Matthew Pennington (Ipswich Town)
Pennington had a brilliant game in the 1-1 draw with Wigan, making a whopping 13 clearances and winning nearly everything that came his way in the air. He stopped a potential goal by blocking a volley from Josh Windass in a performance which was given 9/10 by the East Anglian Daily Times.
It was a sad day for Ipswich as their relegation was all-but confirmed with a 2-1 defeat at home to Reading, with Pennington still winning ten of his 20 duels but only making two clearances this time.
Antonee Robinson and Beni Baningime (Wigan Athletic)
Both loanees sat out Wigan’s 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town, their 0-0 draw with Middlesbrough and their 2-1 defeat to Derby County. Robinson is still out injured while Baningime is also struggling for fitness at the moment.
Ashley Williams (Stoke City)
Williams was brought on for Charlie Adam in a tactical change for the final 25 minutes of a 1-1 draw at home to Aston Villa, and managed four clearances in that time. He stayed on the bench for the 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
Muhamed Besic (Middlesbrough)
Besic was brought off after just under an hour of his side’s 2-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers, despite hitting seven of seven accurate long balls and 45 passes with a 91% accuracy in a game which he bossed for the time he was on the pitch.
The Bosnian then lasted 67 minutes of Boro’s 0-0 draw at Wigan, but was slightly less involved despite having a shot saved just before half-time. He hit a couple of stray passes in the second half before being replaced.
Joe Williams and Callum Connolly (Bolton Wanderers)
The pair started for the first time together at Bolton for the 2-1 defeat at Leeds United with Connolly putting in a more settled performance at left-back, making seven clearances, while Williams was relatively quiet but did start to show the tenacity he’d been displaying before his thigh injury. He was booked for quite an entertaining exchange in which he tried to drag an ‘injured’ Leeds player to his feet before having water sprayed down his back by another Leeds player and reacting angrily.
Williams was out of the squad for the 2-0 defeat at Swansea City for whatever reason, but hopefully not for discipline as two of his teammates were sent off in South Wales. Connolly had a tricky afternoon up against Nathan Dyer, but blocked two shots and made six clearances in another strong showing. He could have scored himself against the run of play but was unlucky not to.
Bolton’s players have been involved in some serious financial issues and have only just received their pay for last month from the club, as their game this weekend was in danger of not going ahead due to the ongoing problems.
Kieran Dowell (Sheffield United)
Dowell scored the only goal of the game to secure a 1-0 win at the Hawthorns against West Bromwich Albion, a first-half header. The Star claimed in their player ratings (9/10) afterwards that he would surely play at the top level in the future. Will that be at Everton?
He struggled to get into the derby against Sheffield Wednesday but grew into the game before being replaced after an hour in a tactical switch by Chris Wilder.
Mason Holgate (West Bromwich Albion)
Holgate was influential going forward against Sheffield United, despite his side losing 1-0. The Express and Star claimed that West Brom have adapted to rely on him too much down the right, which is saying something considering he’s not actually a right-back.
He didn’t have the opportunity to get forward often in the 4-0 defeat at Leeds United, but put in a couple of solid challenges as well as making four interceptions.
League One
Luke Garbutt (Oxford United)
Garbutt kept his place in the side after a couple of impressive showings in his new position on the left-wing for the 1-0 win at Blackpool, before being brought off after an hour of the 2-1 win over Scunthorpe United due to a tactical switch, with most of the action going through the middle.
Anthony Evans (Blackpool)
Evans had a quiet game at number 10 in the 1-0 defeat to Oxford, before losing his place for the 4-0 defeat at Bristol Rovers and staying on the bench.
He was restored to the side in a deeper role for the 2-1 win at Accrington Stanley but failed to track back leading to Stanley’s goal and didn’t offer enough going forward.
Evo-Stik Premier League
Joe Hilton (Marine)
Joe kept a clean sheet against Stafford Rangers in a 0-0 draw after a 2-0 defeat at home to Workington, but was voted Marine’s Player of the Month for February.
@TomClarke40
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