Last season saw League One and Two full of some truly special loanees, which had huge affects on their respected clubs seasons, but as we enter the final stages of the 2022/23 season, where are some of those loan stars now?
In order to find out, The Real EFL’s Conor has researched several of the key names from last season and has taken a look at where some of those players are one-year on.
One of the great spectacles that the Football League has to offer, is the young talent from bigger clubs getting to showcase their skills across League One & Two.
💪 The #SkyBetLeagueTwo March Goal of the Month award goes to @Official_BRFC's Elliot Anderson!#EFL pic.twitter.com/NtmYaHTROu
— Sky Bet League Two (@SkyBetLeagueTwo) April 15, 2022
Finding a perfect couple of loanees can transform a team’s season as we saw with a certain Bristol Rovers loanee (linked above), who took his side from mid-table up to the automatic promotion places on the final day of the season.
Countless other examples have occurred over the years with the likes of Jorge Grant and Tyler Walker becoming very popular within the EFL scene for their various loan stints at sides like Notts County, Lincoln City and Mansfield Town respectively.
Not every loan player that hits the EFL scene is an immediate success. There has been countless examples of players from the Premier League or Championship that have dropped down into the third tier or fourth and haven’t quite had the successful spell that their reputations promised.
With all that being said, let’s take a look at some of last season’s standout loanees from the 2021/22 season and where they are now…
Elliot Anderson – Bristol Rovers on loan from Newcastle United
Rovers had a fairytale ending to their season last year, and no player may have been more impactful toward the turnaround than the 19-year-old from the North East. In the Winter transfer window, Joey Barton used his old Newcastle ties to secure the acquisition of Anderson and despite playing for only three months with the Gas, the attacking midfielder left his mark.
Anderson came straight into the starting lineup and showed his talent from the get-go. Rovers won 13 of their 21 league games with Anderson, with him also getting that all-important seventh goal to secure Rovers’ promotion. From a personal experience, Anderson may be the best player I have ever seen play at this level, so it’s no surprise after his seven goals and six assists half-season, he’s playing higher quality football.
Where is he now – The Scotsman has since returned to his Premier League parent club, where he has gone on to make 14 appearances in all competitors. Anderson has yet to mark himself with a goal or assist for the club, however with 10 of those cameos coming off the bench in the Premier League, that is quite the step up from where he was 12 months ago.
Gavin Bazunu – Portsmouth on loan from Manchester City
The first Goalkeeper to come up on this list, Bazunu was massively important within the Portsmouth side. So much so that he was rewarded with Pompey’s Player and Player’s Player of the Season awards after the season came to a conclusion.
Portsmouth may not have had the season they were after to get them a step closer back to the top, but Bazunu was one of the better players in League One last season. The 20-year-old comes from an exciting academy at Manchester City and displayed his talents which has helped to earn himself a big move.
Where is he now – Bazunu’s performances down South earned him a £12 million move to stay on that coastline in Southhampton. Gavin has started all 22 Premier League matches this season for the Saints, and is part of a new young upcoming core for the Irish National side.
Finn Azaz – Newport County on loan from Aston Villa
Finn Azaz’s Newport Country spell last season was his second year in League Two, and he was rewarded with the League Two Young Player of the Season award for his efforts. The Irishman had seven goals and six assists from the midfield position, and he looked noticeably better as the season went on.
He finished the year with some silverware and had the most shots, most key passes and most tackles than any other U21 in the division.
Where is he now – Azaz is still a part of Aston Villa’s side but has since got a loan, a step higher in League One with Plymouth Argyle this year. The Pilgrims are sitting happily at the top of the league, with Finn having another fantastic season. The midfielder has already matched his goal and assist tally from last season’s award-winning season and done it in half the time in a harder division as well.
Connor Taylor – Bristol Rovers on loan from Stoke.
Taylor is our second Rovers loanee from last season to make the list as Joey Barton took advantage of his contacts. Last season was Taylor’s first full go at senior football and he didn’t disappoint. The defender featured in 42 league matches, playing a part in Bristol Rovers’ promotion campaign.
He went on to win Rovers’ Young Player of the Season award and was nominated for the same award across the whole of League Two.
Where is he now – The Englishmen has since returned to his parent club and is playing in the Championship with them. For Stoke, he has started eight of his 10 appearances, while being moved slightly out to the right side of the defence under Alex Neil.
Troy Parrott – MK Dons on loan from Tottenham Hotspur
I mentioned Ireland has some talent coming through the ranks and Parrott is our third of that wave to make this list. The now 21-year-old made his Premier League debut for Spurs at the age of 17 and has since been loaned out for the last few seasons.
Last year he spent the season with MK and it was his best spell to date. Teaming up with Scott Twine up top, Parrott has 15 goal contributions within the year in which the club almost secured promotion.
Where is he now – Following in his familiar footsteps, Parrott was sent out on loan again this year, but this time he’s got another crack at the Championship with Preston. To date, he has two goals in his 17 features for the 14th-place side. Parrott has been a key contributor to his nation though in recent matches, with four goals for his country.
Cameron Dawson – Exeter City on loan from Sheffield Wednesday
Dawson was a massive signing for the Grecians when he came in during the Summer of 2021, and he proved to be so when he helped Exeter clinch automatic promotion into League One.
The oldest player on this list at 27 years of age, Dawson has devoted his whole career to Wednesday, however, has endured five loan spells in that time. Keeping 19 clean sheets last year was his best season to date, with the goalkeeper describing the club’s season as the highlight of his career
Where is he now – Now, Dawson has headed back to Sheffield where he is operating as the League One team’s current No. 1. It took him till December to earn that shirt, but in nine appearances for the club he has kept seven clean sheets and got nominated for EFL Player of the Mouth for December.
Mattie Pollock – Cheltenham Town on loan from Watford
Pollock started his career, unlike others on this list, where he rose through the ranks of Grimsby until Watford bought him in the Spring of 2021 for an initial fee of £250,000.
The defender spent his first year at the former Premier League club on loan to Cheltenham. He had a successful spell there starting in all 34 of the matches he featured in and even notched himself a goal in the FA Cup. Pollock helped the Robins remain in League One, as he eyed up a return to his parent club the next season.
Where is he now – With Watford getting relegated into the Championship, they elected to keep Pollock and add him to the squad for the 22/23 season. Unfortunately, Pollock wasn’t quite able to break into the first-team squad and only saw three features for the Hornets.
That saw him loaned out to Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen just last month, for the rest of the season. From there he started both games he has been available for.
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