It took a little longer than it did last season but we’re finally off the mark in the goalscoring column for the 2014-15 season on the loanwatch front. Thorgan Hazard got things underway in the Europa League in midweek before Stipe Perica weighed in for NAC Breda on Sunday.
Headlines
Thorgan hasn’t yet started for Borussia Mönchengladbach yet but has impressed as a substitute and following a lively cameo last weekend against Stuttgart, he made his presence felt in their qualifier against FK Sarajevo on Thursday. The tie was long since over but the Belgian struck two late set-pieces to put some gloss on a 7-0 victory; his second from some way out a rather spectacular contribution.
He was back on the bench for Sunday’s trip to Freiburg, getting another twenty-odd minutes in their 0-0 draw.
Perica, meanwhile, returned for a second season with NAC Breda earlier this month and has now been afforded a regular starting berth; a marked increase in playing time from his super-sub role of 13-14. He opened his account for the season with a goal against PEC Zwolle whilst also winning the penalty for the second of NAC’s goals in a 3-1 win.
England
Ryan Bertrand was given a midweek rest for a second-string Southampton side that beat Millwall in League Cup action but was duly restored for a weekend trip to West Ham in which he impressed; the Saints winning 3-1 to mark their first league victory of the season.
Victor Moses made his Stoke debut against League Two side Portsmouth on Wednesday and played well enough in his hour on the pitch to earn a start for the much tougher trip to Manchester City on Saturday. He was terrific as Mark Hughes’ side upset the odds in winning 1-0 away to their illustrious hosts and whilst the Potters are likely to rotate their wide players, a positive start for the Nigerian will go a long way to helping his stay at the Britannia become a successful one.
Christian Atsu was ineligible to face his parent club as Everton lost 6-3 at home to Chelsea.
Kenneth Omeruo was joined at the Riverside Stadium this week by Patrick Bamford as Middlesbrough continue to call upon manager Aitor Karanka’s friendly relationship with Jose Mourinho, and more may follow before Monday’s transfer deadline.
Omeruo was rested for Tuesday’s cup win over Preston but started against Reading at the weekend (playing very well indeed according to many reports) whilst Bamford played half an hour less than a day after putting pen to paper. He had one or two chances to make an immediate impact and whilst he couldn’t find the net, there’s plenty of reason to think he’ll be prolific on Teesside.
John Swift was an unused substitute for a pair of Rotherham United fixtures this week and hasn’t played quite as much since the arrivals of Richie Smallwood and Paul Taylor at the New York Stadium.
Germany
Lucas Piazon played 85 minutes for Eintracht Frankfurt in a 2-2 draw away to Wolfsburg. He came close to his first goal for the club on a couple of occasions and if his place as a regular wasn’t already certain, the long-term injury suffered by Nelson Valdez will have gone a long way to ensuring it.
Oriol Romeu played the full match as Stuttgart lost 2-0 to Köln, for whom Tomas Kalas was once again an unused substitute.
Netherlands
Vitesse were always going to be up against it this weekend as they headed to Eindhoven to face a PSV team fresh off the back of a victory at Ajax and so it proved. Last season, Peter Bosz’s side won 6-2 at the Philips Stadion as Lucas Piazon and Patrick van Aanholt ran riot but whilst they played well in spells here, they never truly threatened their hosts and succumbed to a 2-0 defeat.
Bertrand Traore shook off a knock picked up at Zwolle last week to play 70 minutes and he did well, testing Jeroen Zoet with two first half shots and proving a lively influence throughout. Josh McEachran was an unused substitute following Bosz noting his lack of match fitness, whilst Wallace missed a second consecutive match through injury.
Spain
Gael Kakuta played 75 minutes for Rayo Vallecano away to Deportivo and was a lively, inventive performer in their 2-2 draw. Mario Pašalić made his home debut for Elche against Grenada but had a lacklustre hour before being substituted.
Italy
Marko Marin was left out of Fiorentina’s squad for their opening day reverse at Roma, whilst Fernando Torres has joined Milan on a two-year loan switch taking him through to the end of his Chelsea contract. He may not regularly feature in the Loan Report, although that is as of right now undecided, but Marko van Ginkel certainly will as he too is headed to the Rossoneri.
France
Joao Rodriguez played no part for Bastia in their 1-1 draw at Bordeaux on Sunday.
Chile
Cristian Cuevas played no part for Universidad de Chile against Union Espanola on Friday.
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