The Loan Army is still affected by the European winter break, but players are returning, both to action and to Chelsea as the January transfer window opens.

Headliners

Our headliners this week concern those players who are now back at Cobham after seeing their loans come to a premature end, and also those who are set to.

Jacob Maddox and Luke McCormick both came home after struggling with League One teams through the first half of the season, while Danny Drinkwater has been sent back by Burnley after a tumultuous time at Turf Moor. They should all find new homes at some point this month.

Sam Ricketts confirms that both Louis Thompson and Luke McCormick have returned to their parent clubs as their loan spells come to an end as both parties look for more regular game time. #Salop — Shrewsbury Town FC (@shrewsweb) January 2, 2020

LATEST: Dyche confirms Drinkwater departurehttps://t.co/3jHitPF3rV — Burnley FC (@BurnleyOfficial) January 3, 2020

Lewis Baker is set to return early from his stay at Fortuna Dusseldorf after losing what was initially a regular place in the team, while Josh Grant is weighing up the offer of a permanent deal from Plymouth, with the defender’s Chelsea deal up this summer.

https://twitter.com/ChelseaLoanArmy/status/1213375458705756160

https://twitter.com/ChelseaLoanArmy/status/1213610808690794496

England

Championship

Conor Gallagher is somehow now one of the most experienced players in an increasingly youthful Charlton Athletic team; he got ninety minutes in a league defeat to Swansea before resting up in their FA Cup exit to West Brom, where his place in the team went to 16 year-old debutant Aaron Henry.

Birmingham hosted Wigan on New Year’s Day without Jake Clarke-Salter or Dujon Sterling being involved, but both were back for the cup at the weekend. Clarke-Salter got 69 minutes on his return from a dislocated shoulder, while Sterling played the first half of Wigan’s 2-0 defeat to Leicester City before leaving with a knock.

Matt Miazga isn’t quite back in the Reading reckoning after injury, getting 22 minutes from the bench in a win at Fulham to open 2020, but Captain America was in full effect on Saturday as he led the Royals in a 2-2 draw with Blackpool.

https://twitter.com/ReadingFC/status/1213462197122326529

Trevoh Chalobah and Huddersfield were beaten 5-2 by Stoke in midweek and were then on the end of a 2-0 loss at Southampton to leave the FA Cup at the first hurdle.

Izzy Brown is still out injured.

League One

Now alone in this division, Richard Nartey was part of a wild 4-3 win for Burton at Bolton to start the year, but lasted only 37 minutes of their 4-2 cup defeat to Northampton on Sunday before leaving through injury.

Italy

Serie A returned this weekend with a heavy Monday schedule for the Epiphany holiday, which is when you’ll find Mario Pašalić and Atalanta playing, as they host Parma. Davide Zappacosta, meanwhile, continues to convalesce from a ruptured cruciate ligament.

Spain

Neither Kenedy nor Baba Rahman saw any playing time as La Liga returned from winter hiatus.

France

Tiémoué Bakayoko played 70 minutes in Monaco’s 2-1 cup win at home to Reims.

Portugal

Lucas Piazon made his long-awaited(?) full league debut for Rio Ave, getting 90 minutes in a 1-0 home defeat to Maritimo.

Brazil

Nathan, still injured, is considering his options after his loan to Atlético-MG expired with the end of the Brazilian Serie A season.

Winter Break

Everyone else is still on an extended winter break and will return in the days and weeks to come.

Statistics

Started: August 1st 2019

Finished: August 1st 2020









Player Club League FA Cup League Cup Europe Other Mins

Played Total Apps Cln Sht Apps Cln Sht Apps Cln Sht Apps Cln Sht Apps Cln Sht Apps Cln Sht Nathan Baxter Ross County 14 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1260 14 3 Jamal Blackman Vitesse Arnhem 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Jamal Blackman Bristol Rovers 9 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 810 9 2 Total 2070 23 5

Covid-19

Several league campaigns were curtailed earlier than expected due to the global Covid-19 pandemic. Numbers for those players are assumed to be as of the formal end of that respective season; whether the stats officially count or not, we will take them as having happened.