When Arne Slot decided he was comfortable working with a small squad, opportunities opened up for Liverpool’s fringe players.
Clubs across the UK and further afield in Europe pitched their plans to take youngsters on loan for the season and each move was carefully considered. After three months away from Anfield, The Athletic takes a closer look at how each player is performing.
Stefan Bajcetic — Red Bull Salzburg
More than any other Liverpool player, Bajcetic needed a loan move. Hampered by injury setbacks and “growing pains” over the past two years, the remit from Liverpool for the 2024-25 season was simple: play games and prove your durability.
Moving to Salzburg made sense. The head coach, Pep Lijnders, worked with him as Jurgen Klopp’s assistant and understood the midfielder’s situation. It is why Salzburg’s sluggish start is not too much of a concern, either, because the 20-year-old is getting the regular minutes he needs at a high level to build himself back up.
Stefan Bajcetic (left) has been a regular starter at Salzburg (Michal Cizek/AFP via Getty Images)
Liverpool ask for regular feedback on his development and provide weekly guidance around managing his training load. Agreeing to stay for the season gave security to Bajcetic, a Spain Under-21 midfielder, and the second half of the campaign can remind Liverpool of his qualities. He has made 11 appearances in all competitions, including three Champions League games.
Ben Doak — Middlesbrough
With five forwards ahead of him at Liverpool — and Federico Chiesa arriving late in the summer transfer window to make it six — Doak needed a run of regular games after a disruptive year with injury.
His options were carefully analysed and it was decided that Middlesbrough, under the leadership of Michael Carrick, would be a good fit for the 19-year-old winger and that looks like a smart move.
He has recorded one goal and three assists but his direct running and constant attacking threat have made him a big hit. Doak, who is featuring more often for Scotland and delivered a standout display in the recent win over Croatia, is in the top 10 of Championship players for dribbles completed and is building up his body to deal with the demands of a rigorous campaign. The keep-or-sell debate rumbles on.
Kaide Gordon — Norwich City
The 20-year-old’s minutes have been minimal for Norwich in the Championship but it’s too soon to judge whether his move will be a success.
Like some of his team-mates at Liverpool out on loan, Gordon, who is the club’s youngest FA Cup goalscorer, is determined to make up for lost time after injuries.
In his seven appearances (six as a substitute), he has struggled to make an impact and looks lightweight compared to opposition defenders.
Nathaniel Phillips — Derby County
Not for the first time, Phillips has needed to show patience. Phillips, 27, needs a permanent home because he has made just 106 appearances in his professional club career, mostly in loans at Stuttgart, Bournemouth, Celtic and Cardiff City.
Phillips has started playing at Derby, but for how long? (Morgan Harlow/Getty Images)
He was the subject of interest from Turkish club Trabzonspor over the summer but made another loan switch before the transfer deadline.
Despite starting the last two games — and performing well — he faces a challenge to keep his place as fellow centre-back Eiran Cashin returns from suspension this weekend and is the preferred choice. Phillips’ contract at Anfield expires at the end of the season so there could be a longer-term move on the horizon.
Owen Beck — Blackburn Rovers
Being bitten by Preston North End’s Milutin Osmajic was probably not on Beck’s bingo card when he joined Blackburn on a season-long loan in August.
In the dying moments of Blackburn’s derby against Preston, the Montenegro international sank his teeth into Beck’s neck during a melee after the Liverpool loanee was shown a red card for an ill-advised kick on Duane Holmes.
In the aftermath, Beck, 22, was more frustrated with himself as he was going to miss the next three games due to suspension. The defender has always been tenacious and aggressive, but the incident served as a lesson.
Owen Beck points out his bite marks at Preston (Gary Oakley/Getty Images)
That, however, was a rare aberration for Beck, who showed in his debut at Burnley, Blackburn’s fierce rivals, that he could cope with the Championship at its most frenetic. He had not played a competitive game at senior level since March 2 but shut down the dangerous Luca Koleosho.
Beck has enjoyed working under manager John Eustace, who rates the full-back highly. He has impressed defensively and shown his quality going forward, while his decision-making and communication on the pitch have improved.
His main competition is Harry Pickering, who had been injured, but Beck’s form meant he was straight back into the team when he returned from his three-match ban, with Pickering dropping to the bench.
Beck suffered a minor back injury against Sheffield United, ruling him out of the final two games before the international break and preventing him from joining up with the Wales squad. The hope is he will be back when domestic action returns. If Beck continues to impress, he will get an opportunity during pre-season, a chance his friend Conor Bradley took at right-back.
Lewis Koumas — Stoke City
Just over a month after joining Stoke, Koumas was dealing with a managerial change after Narcis Pelach replaced the sacked Steven Schumacher.
Any fears that change may have pushed him to the fringe of things have been misplaced. Koumas, 19, has quickly become a fan favourite and has adapted to Pelach’s more possession-based approach, making 18 appearances in all competitions.
Koumas had proved his talent during Liverpool’s injury crisis last season: he was an unused substitute in the Carabao Cup final before scoring the opener in his only first-team game, a 3-0 FA Cup victory over Southampton. He was part of Liverpool’s pre-season tour of the United States but barely featured.
There was plenty of interest in taking him on loan but Stoke stood out. There was an impressive pitch from sporting director Jonathan Walters, who had done his research on Koumas.
His sensational goal against Bristol City — his third of the season — hit the headlines but it is his all-round game that has delighted Stoke’s coaching staff. Work has been done on his runs behind defences and he has impressed senior Stoke players, who have taken him under their wing.
Lewis Koumas scores his eye-catching goal against Bristol City (Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)
Koumas, who signed a new long-term contract before the move was finalised, is one of a group of players who stay in Stoke on the Friday evening before games and they will go out for a meal together.
Calum Scanlon — Millwall
The left-back is working his way back to fitness at Liverpool after suffering a back injury.
Scanlon, who made two appearances for the first team in the Europa League last season, had been building momentum. After starting for England Under-20s in September and coming off the bench in his second game at Millwall, he felt the issue and could not continue.
Scanlon, 19, should be training in the next few weeks and could return to the Championship club before the new year if his recovery goes as planned.
Calvin Ramsay — Wigan
The positive for Ramsay is that he has made more first-team league appearances this season than in either of his previous loan spells at Bolton Wanderers and Preston North End.
The downside is that he is not a regular starter and also not a top performer. Ramsay is yet to complete a full 90 minutes for Wigan Athletic but has started to feature more often in recent weeks.
There is a belief that if he can start to find some rhythm and momentum, he can start to kick on and achieve his potential.
Luke Chambers — Wigan
Things were going so well for Chambers at Wigan, where he started the first 10 games in League One and was in great form.
The 20-year-old, who also spent the second half of last season playing for Shaun Maloney’s side, asked to return this summer despite Liverpool’s plans to send him into the Championship.
But a back injury, sustained early in October, has kept him out ever since and he is now at Liverpool continuing his rehab and recovery.
Speaking to Latics TV last month, Maloney said: “It’s a blow for him and a blow for us. It’s a shame. He was flying for us and he has probably been one of our best players.”
Luke Chambers has been a regular at Wigan Athletic (Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images)
Luca Stephenson — Dundee United
Dundee United sitting fourth in the Scottish Premiership might not be as headline-grabbing as Aberdeen’s remarkable start, but for a promoted club, it’s turning into quite the tale.
At the heart of it has been Stephenson, a converted wing-back who has been returned to the midfield. The 21-year-old has scored in all three of Dundee United’s home victories this season and, having moved to Liverpool from Sunderland for £500,000 ($630,000) six years ago, was recently reminded of his comparison to Jordan Henderson.
“Jordan Henderson; that was the shout back in the day,” Stephenson said in an interview with The Courier. “Hopefully, I can still live up to that one!”
Luca Stephenson is relishing life at Dundee United (Ross Parker/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Marcelo Pitaluga — Livingston
The Scottish Championship high-fliers are reluctant to change a winning team so that means goalkeeper Pitaluga has been restricted to playing in cup competitions. Livingston are second in Scotland’s Championship and have lost only one game all season, so Jamie Prior remains the No 1.
Speaking to Liverpool.com over the weekend, Pitaluga said: “We push each other and it’s a really good group. You want to play every game. That is what I’m working for. At my age, you need games.”
Rhys Williams — Morecambe
The challenge at the foot of the Football League with Morecambe has been surprisingly refreshing for the 23-year-old. He has played 15 games in all competitions, putting together one of the most consistent runs in his short but eventful career.
Injuries have been disruptive since he tasted Liverpool’s first-team environment during the 2020-21 campaign but the desire to play at the top still burns. “I want to get back to where I was,” he told The Athletic recently, and no doubt he will be moving up again if his form continues.
Elsewhere…
Goalkeeper Fabian Mrozek’s loan spell at Brommapojkarna in Sweden has now ended.
(Top photos: Getty Images)
