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Youngsters On Loan Watch

MutableEarth

MutableEarth

Reiss' Dad
Trusted ⭐
TromsoGooner said:
If he had a full season at Doncaster he may have been part of the squad first part of the season but with him missing a lot of the season, another loan is probably on the cards. Done well when played at Doncaster, plenty of Championship clubs should be interested.
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Could see him doing a good job at a lower Championship team. He's such a versatile striker that he can play in a variety of different systems in a variety of roles.

Need someone who can run the channels? TJJ's your man. Someone to hold up play and bring others in? TJJ's your man. Someone to drop deep and create space for the forwards ahead? Someone to play off the shoulder of the last man?

TJJ could potentially become a complete striker if he develops fully and stays fit. It's gonna be tough for him here because the competition upfront currently is the strongest it's been in a very long time. I think for him, if he begins to score more goals, he'll be impossible to ignore.
 
T

TromsoGooner

Obsessed With Looking for Eric
Season over for our loanees in England. John Jules got a goal in the last game. A shame that he was out for three months, five goal and three assists in 13 starts is quite good. Will probably go out on loan again, should certainly attract interest from the Championship.

Ballard was on the bench today, probably rested for the play-offs. Has by all accounts been very good for Blackpool, played most of their games, quite few for Northern Ireland too and will now experience a play-off. Will be very interesting to follow.

McGuiness has been good for Ipswich as well, his stats are very impressive, looks to be an absolute monster in the air.

Harry Clarke has done okey for Oldham in League 2 but hard to see him breaking through with Salibs, Mavropanos, Ballard and McGuiness all ahead of him.

Osei Tutu started off well for Cardiff but lost most of the season because of injury. Would probably have been sold regardless with us having some younger and highly promising RBs, a shame still as his value could have been decent with a full season in the Championship behind him.

Matthew Smith had a strange season. Started off very well for Swindon and got lots of praise but lost his place. Then went on loan to Charlton but hardly played.
 
R

REEVIE1995

Active Member
From what I can gather, James Olakyinka has done okay at southend despite his issues with injuries. Its been difficult for him because Southend are a mess. He is their joint top scorer with 3 goals in the league which shows badly they have struggled as a team. He is obviously highly rated by the club as he made the bench for the community shield but he could definitely do with a better loan next season.
 
Football Manager

Football Manager

Copy & Paste Merchant
TromsoGooner said:
Season over for our loanees in England. John Jules got a goal in the last game. A shame that he was out for three months, five goal and three assists in 13 starts is quite good. Will probably go out on loan again, should certainly attract interest from the Championship.

Ballard was on the bench today, probably rested for the play-offs. Has by all accounts been very good for Blackpool, played most of their games, quite few for Northern Ireland too and will now experience a play-off. Will be very interesting to follow.

McGuiness has been good for Ipswich as well, his stats are very impressive, looks to be an absolute monster in the air.

Harry Clarke has done okey for Oldham in League 2 but hard to see him breaking through with Salibs, Mavropanos, Ballard and McGuiness all ahead of him.

Osei Tutu started off well for Cardiff but lost most of the season because of injury. Would probably have been sold regardless with us having some younger and highly promising RBs, a shame still as his value could have been decent with a full season in the Championship behind him.

Matthew Smith had a strange season. Started off very well for Swindon and got lots of praise but lost his place. Then went on loan to Charlton but hardly played.
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For the Matt Smith case, we should have loan him out to Spain/Italy/Germany.

There is no point loaning a technical player to a kick and rush team (English lower league sides), and say they have played badly.
In these hoof ball English teams, their manager will only say “you are not physical enough, that’s why I won’t play you.” Just like what Pulis did to Gnabry.

If a young Messi is in our team and you loan him to Pulis. He will get the same treatment. And because he doesn’t get played, a lot of stupid fans will not rate him.

Please, just loan Smith and other technical players to somewhere that they can showcase his passing ability.
 
R

REEVIE1995

Active Member
Despite his age, I have really high hopes for Ballard. Done well at international level against the likes of Haaland and the Blackpool fans love him. His mentality is probably his biggest asset. He has done amazingly well to pick himself up after being released and his injury issues at Swindon.

Hoping he gets some game time in preseason before we loan him out again. Fully deserves it.
 
Jack_The_Lad

Jack_The_Lad

Active Member
MutableEarth said:

Now this is a great watch. A very cultured and rounded talent. CF with great technical ability and getting stronger.
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My days, how I love this kid's playing style. Really hope he can take another step in the right direction this season. Already looks comfortable at the level he's playing at now. He's going to have a good career barring injuries. Maybe he can even force his way into the team in a year or two?
 
T

TromsoGooner

Obsessed With Looking for Eric
Ballard just scored for Northern Ireland, first international goal I believe. Very exciting player, has started well for Milwall it seems and excellent for Blackpool. Arteta and Edu will probably sell him for 1M next summer to finance an extension for Pablo Mari.
 
MutableEarth

MutableEarth

Reiss' Dad
Trusted ⭐
TromsoGooner said:
Ballard just scored for Northern Ireland, first international goal I believe. Very exciting player, has started well for Milwall it seems and excellent for Blackpool. Arteta and Edu will probably sell him for 1M next summer to finance an extension for Pablo Mari.
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Yeah, I reckon he'll smash it for a Championship/lower table PL team and end up at Leicester :lol:
 
Jack_The_Lad

Jack_The_Lad

Active Member
TromsoGooner said:
Ballard just scored for Northern Ireland, first international goal I believe. Very exciting player, has started well for Milwall it seems and excellent for Blackpool. Arteta and Edu will probably sell him for 1M next summer to finance an extension for Pablo Mari.
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Elite mentality too! Iirc he was released several times by arsenal during his hale end days. Shows great attitude that he's still around and performing well on loans now too.
 
Barry

Barry

Definitely Not An Old Poster
TromsoGooner said:
Ballard with a goal and another good game against WBA. Milwall fans really happy with him
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Ballard looks like he is developing really well. Ok, it's Whoscored, but if the ratings below are any indication it looks like he has been getting decent Championship and International level experience with some very solid performances including a couple of goals.

Depending on what happens with Saliba next season, Ballard might be ready to play a role in the first team with Arsenal? Any Millwall or 'Norn fans here who watch him regularly? I don't know how good he is with the ball, but from the little I've seen of him he's always looked like an excellent defender with a bit of character as well.

1631607311071.png
 
AbouCuéllar

AbouCuéllar

Author of A-M essays 📚
Ballard is a decent prospect but I don't think he's really someone to consider for Arsenal. We talk about Holding not being good enough for more than a back-up role for Arsenal, and think where Holding was at 19, 2 years younger than Ballard is now.

I don't think we need to really think about people like Ballard in terms of first-team setup at Arsenal, the idea is to get as much profit from him. Monlouis and Awe (and Rekik, probably?) are the guys with first-team potential if things go right.
 
Barry

Barry

Definitely Not An Old Poster
AbouCuéllar said:
Ballard is a decent prospect but I don't think he's really someone to consider for Arsenal. We talk about Holding not being good enough for more than a back-up role for Arsenal, and think where Holding was at 19, 2 years younger than Ballard is now.

I don't think we need to really think about people like Ballard in terms of first-team setup at Arsenal, the idea is to get as much profit from him. Monlouis and Awe (and Rekik, probably?) are the guys with first-team potential if things go right.
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I haven't seen enough of any of them to really judge between them so this is a genuine question - but what makes you rate those guys ahead of Ballard out of interest?

On the face of it Ballard now has way more experience - he's impressed in our U23's; then at League 1 level; as a senior international with 9 caps & now seemingly at Championship level as well. Is it because he's a bit limited on the ball? Always thought he was one of our top defensive prospects.
 
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