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There are upsides and downsides to signing a player on loan. If the player performs well on loan, then the club he was on loan at may be keen on signing him permanently or his parent club will be hoping that the player can replicate his good form for them.
On the other hand, if the player doesn’t perform well, then the club he was on loan at will have avoided a bullet but his parent club will have an uphill task to get a good transfer fee.
In most cases, a player goes out on loan so that he can get regular playing time elsewhere. In some instances, players are sent out on loan so that they can get the necessary work permit and then there are also cases where players are loaned in to avoid FFP sanctions.
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PSG loaned in Kylian Mbappe last summer and Serge Aurier a few seasons before that to ensure that they didn’t break any rules. They had a clause to buy both players permanently a year after they were signed on loan.
A plethora of top players have moved clubs on loan this summer and here is a pick of the best XI of such players.
Goalkeeper - Sergio Rico (Fulham)
Sergio Rico is a graduate of the Sevilla academy that has produced many Spanish internationals over the years including Sergio Ramos.
The Spaniard broke into the Sevilla first team in 2014 after injuries to the first and second choice goalkeepers forced him into action. He quickly established himself as the club’s first choice goalkeeper and played 169 games by the end of the 2017/18 season while also winning the Europa League twice.
During this period, the 24-year-old was also capped at the senior level by Spain.
Last season, Rico fell out with then manager Vincenzo Montella after some high-profile mistakes which also enraged the fans. He was subsequently dropped to bench towards the tail end of the season.
Sevilla signed FC Basel’s goalkeeper Tomáš Vaclík in the summer and as a result, agreed to loan Rico out to Fulham on the Premier League deadline day.
Fullbacks - Šime Vrsaljko (Inter Milan) and Theo Hernandez (Real Sociedad)
The two full-backs on this list went on loan from Madrid based clubs. In fact, both players were previously contracted to Atletico Madrid.
The Croatian, Sime Vrsaljko, joined Atletico Madrid in 2016 and played 54 games in two seasons despite a serious injury in between. After playing a crucial role in Croatia’s run to the World Cup final, Vrsaljko joined Inter Milan on loan ahead of the new season.
The 26-year-old cost Inter €7 million as loan fee and they have the option of signing him permanently after a year which will take his total transfer fee to €25 million.
Theo Hernandez only joined Real Madrid a year ago from Atletico Madrid. He played just 23 games in all competitions last season despite an injury to Marcelo.
The 20-year-old was sent on loan to Real Sociedad for the 2018/19 season in the hope of getting regular playing time and LaLiga experience.
This will be Theo’s second spell on loan at a LaLiga club after spending the 2016/17 season on loan at Deportivo Alavés from Atletico Madrid.
Honourable mention: Timothy Fosu-Mensah (Fulham), Achraf Hakimi (Borussia Dortmund) Baba Rahman (Schalke) and Jonny (Wolves)
Centre-backs - Calum Chambers (Fulham) and Kurt Zouma (Everton)
The two centre-backs in this XI are contracted to a Premier League club from London, they went on loan to another Premier League club previously and both players faced relegation during their previous loan stint in England’s top tier.
Calum Chambers hasn’t been able to cement himself as a regular at Arsenal since his move to the club in 2014. The versatile defender who has played 83 games for Arsenal still has a future at Arsenal and that was evident when he signed a new contract before leaving the gunners on loan.
The 23-year-old previously went on loan to Middlesbrough in 2016/17 and it ended with him facing relegation. This year, he has joined Fulham on a year-long loan.
Similar to Chambers, Zouma also has a future at his parent club and both players are of the same age. The French defender has struggled to break into the Chelsea team following a few injuries with lengthy layoffs.
Zouma was on loan at Stoke City last season and he was one of their best players despite them getting relegated. This season, he joined Everton on loan on transfer deadline day.
Honourable mention - Leander Dendoncker (Wolves)
Midfielders - Tiemoue Bakayoko (AC Milan), Mateo Kovacic (Chelsea) and Andre Gomes (Everton)
A lot of players leave Chelsea on loan every season and the most high-profile name to leave the Blues on loan this summer was Tiemoue Bakayoko.
The 24-year-old defensive midfielder only joined Chelsea a year ago but he struggled to replicate the form that helped Monaco win the league title in 2016/17. He moved to AC Milan on a season-long loan for €5 million and the seven-time European Champions have the option of making his move permanent for €35 million.
Although Chelsea loaned out Bakayoko, they loaned in a midfielder to their side on deadline day.
Mateo Kovacic has been with Real Madrid since 2015 but he has often found himself on the bench at the Spanish capital. Following the World Cup, the Croatian wished to move elsewhere for regular playing time and he chose to move to Chelsea on a year-long loan.
Kovacic’s loan was a part of Thibaut Courtois’ permanent move to Real Madrid but it doesn’t seem like Chelsea have the option of making the loan move permanent in the summer.
Real Madrid are not the only Spanish giants to loan out a midfielder to a Premier League team wearing Blue colour. Barcelona were keen on offloading Andre Gomes throughout the summer and eventually, they agreed to send the Portuguese on loan to Everton on transfer deadline day for €2.25 million.
Gomes has endured a poor spell at Barcelona and a move away from the limelight could massively benefit the player’s confidence. Still only 25, Gomes has ample time to get his career back on track.
Honourable mentions: Harry Arter (Cardiff City) and Marko Grujic (Hertha BSC)
Note: James Rodriguez is on loan at Bayern Munich, but he hasn’t been included in this XI because his move was sanctioned last summer.
Forwards - Gonzalo Higuain (AC Milan), Matteo Politano (Inter Milan) and Andre Schurrle (Fulham)
A lot of forwards have moved on loan this summer and that’s evident when you look at the players listed under honourable mentions below.
The biggest loan deal of the summer was Gonzalo Higuain’s move to AC Milan. The Argentine striker was the subject of interest from Chelsea but he opted to stay in Italy and thus, Milan became his third Serie A club after Napoli and Juventus.
AC Milan paid a loan fee of €18 million for the 30-year-old striker and they have the option of buying the player permanently next summer for €36 million which is payable in two instalments.
Both Milan clubs were very busy in the summer and Matteo Politano was one of Inter’s three loan signings. The 25-year-old Italian international cost Inter €5 million as loan fee and they have the option of signing him permanently next summer for €20 million.
Politano isn’t the most popular name on the list but Inter have done excellent business to sign a player who scored 10 goals and assisted four more from the right wing in 36 league games last season for Sassuolo.
Fulham were one of the busiest teams during the summer transfer window and they signed as many as 12 first team players of which five were on loan.
Schurrle, a World Cup winner with Germany, joined the London club on a two-year loan deal. This is his second stint in the Premier League after representing Chelsea between 2013 and 2015.
The 27-year-old hasn’t hit the heights that earned him a move to Chelsea five years ago but regular playing time can build his confidence and he could prove to be a season-defining transfer for Fulham.
Honourable mentions: Keita Balde (Inter Milan), Marko Pjaca (Fiorentina), Kenedy (Newcastle United), Andre Ayew (Fenerbahce), Andre Silva (Sevilla), Salomón Rondón (Newcastle United), Luciano Vietto (Fulham), Danny Ings (Southampton), Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace) and Raul Jimenez (Wolves)
