Every League Two club now leans on the loan market, but the strategies behind those temporary deals differ dramatically.
Some managers stockpile, others cherry-pick, and each method comes with its own risks and rewards.
The Case for Quantity
Some clubs look at the loan system as a way of stretching their resources further than permanent contracts allow. Bringing in six or seven loanees gives a manager options across the pitch and the flexibility to cover injuries, suspensions or tactical shifts. The “quantity” approach was famously used by Yeovil Town, who would often carry “spare” loanees simply to guard against sudden problems – 12 in the 2015/16 season. It allowed them to remain competitive with a small core squad, while dipping into loans when required.
The obvious drawback is the regulation that only five loan players can feature in a matchday squad. That means a manager could find himself leaving senior professionals in the stands, potentially unsettling those individuals and creating a sense of wasted investment. It also raises questions of squad identity: if half the team is made up of players destined to return elsewhere, what continuity is really being built?
The Case for Quality
Other clubs take the opposite view, preferring to bring in fewer but more reliable loanees. Instead of a string of teenagers untested in senior football, they target those with experience – perhaps a defender with 100 senior appearances or a midfielder who has already proven himself in League Two. The thinking is that a smaller number of quality additions can be embedded more easily and trusted in the high-pressure environment of a promotion race or relegation scrap.
This approach reduces the risk of loanees being overawed by the physicality of the division. It also ensures that the majority of the matchday squad remains made up of permanent signings, giving supporters a greater sense of stability. It might also be a top-class top-flight youngster, like Elliot Anderson, who helped Bristol Rovers to promotion.
Financial Realities
No discussion about loans can be separated from the financial realities. Some loan deals come with minimal cost, especially when a parent club is keen simply to provide its youngster with senior experience. Others, however, can be eye-wateringly expensive. Stories of clubs paying £250,000 per season for Premier League academy players underline how inflated the market can become. For League Two sides working within modest budgets, this can be the difference between two loanees of pedigree and an entire permanent signing of their own.
That is also where the attraction lies. Loans allow a club to avoid the long-term burden of a permanent signing. Handing out a three-year deal worth several hundred thousand pounds to a player who later fails to perform can cripple a budget. By contrast, a loan is temporary; if the player disappoints, he can be returned without lasting damage.
Pathways to Permanents
A further benefit is that loans often serve as a gateway to permanent signings. Many clubs have used the system as a way to “try before they buy,” taking a player for a season and then securing him permanently once he has proved his worth. For supporters, this adds an element of excitement, as a successful loanee can quickly become a long-term favourite.
Yet not all loanees fall into this category. The brightest prospects from the top clubs are rarely available permanently, and even when they are, their wages are often out of reach. In those cases, a club enjoys the short-term benefit but risks being left searching for a replacement once the player inevitably moves up the ladder.
Promotion or Survival Needs
The context of the club’s season also shapes the loan strategy. For those chasing promotion, short-term bursts of quality can be decisive. A Championship winger or a young striker with explosive pace might provide the extra edge needed to turn draws into wins.
For teams battling relegation, the preference is often more functional: a centre-half with know-how, or a defensive midfielder who brings stability. The purpose of the loans changes depending on the ambition, and what seems like excess to one club can be essential to another.
Ultimately, the loan market is a tool, and like any tool it depends on the skill of the manager using it. Clubs have achieved promotion with just two loanees and others with seven, proving there is no fixed formula. What matters most is how the borrowed players are integrated into the squad and how well they complement the contracted core.
Conclusion
There is no universal “best” approach to loans in League Two. Success lies in striking the right balance – enough loanees to provide depth and quality, but not so many that the team becomes transient and unstable. For some clubs, that might mean carefully selecting two experienced campaigners; for others, it might mean spreading the net wide and carrying six or seven options.
What unites them all is the recognition that the loan market is central to modern squad building. The clubs that master it, blending borrowed quality with their own long-term plans, will be the ones who climb the table fastest.
