Mid-season Report Card For On Loan Liverpool players

Mid-season Report Card For On Loan Liverpool players

Its the mid point of the 2013-14 season and there has been a lot of mid-season evaluations lately. Here we will take a look at how the Liverpool players on-loan to other clubs have been doing. We'll start with the oldest and end with the youngest.

Pepe Reina

Reina's loan move to Napoli was a bit of a shock to everyone. When Liverpool brought in Simon Mignolet in the summer we all knew that all of Rodger's talk of bringing in competition was a load of crap and that Reina's time at Liverpool was over. Nobody seemed to jump on the signing of Reina though, despite much talk of a move back to his childhood club Barcelona. New Napoli boss Rafa Benitez took him on loan and he has been doing a decent job thus far. He has made 20 appearances and had 5 clean sheets this season. He has had some highs and lows, much like his time at Liverpool. A high was when he saved a Mario Ballotelli penalty kick, the first person to stop one of his spot kicks. He started the season well but has made some mistakes lately and has been sharing the starting position now. Overall I don't think that he has done much to convince the Liverpool bosses that he can still be the goalkeeper they need and Mignolet is still their number one choice.

Grade: B

Oussama Assaidi

There is a rumor out there that Brendan Rodgers never really wanted the signing of Assaidi, and that is why Rodgers never really gave him a chance. He hasn't been the highest profile signing Liverpool has ever done but he is proving his worth by doing exceptional while on loan at Stoke City. He has scored 4 goals in 16 appearances so far, including some very important goals including a goal against Everton and the winning goal against Chelsea. Assaidi found playing time hard to come by at first but now has established himself as an important member of the team. Mark Lawrence said today that Rodgers made a mistake by letting Assaidi go and then bringing Moses in. I completely agree that Assaidi is an upgrade to Moses, but maybe a loan was the only way for him to grow and show his skills. Personally I think he has a place in the squad, maybe not starting every week but he would be a great substitute, a plan B. I'm not sure that Rodgers will want him for next season and may elect to sell him while he's hot, maybe to Stoke but I don't think they should write him off yet.

Grade: B+

Fabio Borini

If I had a nickel for all of the transfers that Borini has had in his short career I'd have...35 cents! The 22 year old Italian had a disastrous season with Liverpool last year, mainly because of 2 really bad injuries. Like Assaidi, his season started off slowly but he too has established himself as an important player for the Black Cats. He scored today from the spot to help Sunderland defeat Manchester United in the first leg of the Capitol One Cup. He has scored 4 goals so far in 20 appearances, though most of those he has been brought in as a substitute or subbed out early. I believe Borini has loads of potential, he just needs some consistent playing time in order for him to grow into the player many clubs have seen in him. Rodgers clearly believes in him having coached him at Chelsea and Swansea and I hope that he continues to believe in him. I think he can be a success for Liverpool  next season, playing second fiddle to Suarez and Sturridge. Sunderland has been bad this season but I expect them to just barely survive and I think Borini will help them succeed.

Grade: B

Suso

Like Raheem Sterling, Suso impressed Rodgers when he came in and was giving a lot of playing time early on in the season but saw his role diminished when Sturridge and Coutinho came in. To be fair to Suso he was being played a bit out of position by being put in on the wing instead of the center midfield. Suso was sent back to him homeland of Spain to gain experience with promoted side Alermia for the season. He has probably had the biggest breakout out of all of the on loan Liverpool players. Suso has had 16 appearances so far, scoring twice and getting 6 assists. I expect Suso to continue to improve this season, hopefully chipping in a few more goals too. He has been a revelation for Almeria and has been fantastic on the counter attack. At only 20 years old he still has a lot of time to grow and I hope that Liverpool don't go out and buy more competition for Suso's position because I think he will do great for Liverpool in the future, maybe as soon as next season.

Grade: A-

Andre Wisdom

Wisdom was used by Liverpool quite a bit in the early part of the season but after the likes of Sakho and Ilori was brought in he was shipped out to Derby County to gain some experience. Many think that Wisdom's true position is at center back, though he has continued to be deployed as a right back while on loan. He hasn't been on loan as long as the other Liverpool players have but he has already accumulated 13 appearances for them, helping them get into a Championship playoff spot. Some have said that one of the reasons Rodgers shipped him to Derby is so that they can leverage for a move for Will Hughes. Wisdom has done very good, though he will have to do even better if he wants to uproot the likes of Johnson, Flanagan and Kelly for a starting place at Liverpool.

Grade: B

Jack Robinson

As you can see from this photo, young Jack Robinson has had to toughen up a bit while on his loan to Blackpool. Liverpool have had quite a few dealings with Blackpool recently and so it was quite easy for Liverpool to hash out a loan deal with them. Robinson spent the second half of last season on loan to Wolverhampton, who were relegated to League One. Nobody expected much from Blackpool this season but Robinson has helped them overachieve, again. Last season Robinson was shipped out on loan after a shocking performance against Oldham in the FA Cup. Rodgers didn't have enough faith in him to have him play back up to Jose Enrique this season. He has done pretty well, though not fantastic with them. I still think he needs a bit more experience before he is ready to start for Liverpool. I hope that he finishes the season well and maybe spend one more year on loan or get some playing time in the cups for Liverpool next year.

Grade: B-

Conor Coady

Coady hasn't been rated as highly by the bosses as the previous players but is one that very well could be a great player in the future. He has only made 2 appearances for Liverpool, both in the Europa League and this is his first loan away from the mother club. Sheffield United are in League 1 so the competition isn't as strong as the others but he has been getting a lot of playing time. He has played in 23 matches so far and has scored one goal. All of the previous players are capable of having rich Liverpool careers but I'm not so sure about Coady's chances, though at only 20 years old he has time to spare. He has been deployed in the same position that Liverpool played him in, as a center defensive mid though he can play as a center back as well. I suppose that Lucas doesn't have any back up so he has a chance, only because there is no one else.

Grade: C+

Krisztian Adorjan

Here is another player who I don't think can quite make the grade at Liverpool. He will probably end up being sold, maybe at the end of this season, maybe to Groningen where he is on loan. I honestly don't know anything about this kid except that he is 20 years old and from Hungary. He is a midfielder and has scored 2 goals in 10 appearances. Hopefully Liverpool can get a good fee out of him in the end.

Grade: D+