A month of highs and lows for our loaned out players, with several players being unable to get much game time at their sides. For the players who have featured regularly though, it has been a positive month, with 5 goals and 2 assists shared out amongst them.

Rolando Aarons

Position: Winger

Club: Sheffield Wednesday

Age: 23

In his third loan spell in just over a year, Aarons has finally registered an assist (two, in fact) as he has started brightly for Sheffield Wednesday. He made 5 appearances this month, starting Wednesday’s last two matches. Aaron’s two assists both came on his first start, against Swansea City, in a 3-1 win. His first assist opened the score, with Lucas Joao laying Aarons off on the edge of the box, the winger did very well to pick up his head and see the run of Adam Reach, playing a neat pass into space for Reach to run on to and hit across goal with power. His second assist (although not given officially) came 20 minutes later, again for Adam Reach. A great pass from Barry Bannan down the left side for Aarons saw him take it to the byline and float in a cross that was just too high for Joao and fell to Declan John of Swansea, who made an absolute mess of controlling it/clearing it (it’s honestly hard to tell what he was trying to do) with the ball just trickling past him for Reach to hit hard and low to the near post. Aarons finished the month by playing the full 90 minutes in a 2-0 win against Brentford, with that being only the third time he’s played a full match since April 2018.

Dan Barlaser

Position: Central Midfielder

Club: Accrington Stanley

Age: 22

Barlaser’s fortunes, and Accrington Stanley’s, have improved a lot over the past 4 weeks. The side ended a run of 6 league games without a goal as they drew 2-2 away to Sunderland and picked up their first win of 2019 as they hammered Oxford United 4-2 at home. Barlaser capped off a good month with his first league goal of the season, in a 1-1 draw with Southend. A cross drilled in hard and low from the wing met Jordan Clark, who took the weight off the pass with a bouncing layoff to Barlaser, rushing in like Nacho Fernandez vs Portugal and absolutely belting one through a crowd of bodies in the box, finding the left hand corner of the goal, giving the keeper no chance. Accrington remain 15th in League One with 2 games in hand over the teams around them, already looking a lot safer with a 7 point gap between them and the drop.

Jack Colback

Position: Central Midfielder

Club: Nottingham Forest

Age: 29

The biggest news surrounding Jack Colback this month is the fact that several sources have brought up that, contrary to belief, Colback’s contract was a 6 year deal, not 5. This would mean that he could technically be a Newcastle player for another year. Martin O’Neill has said that he will be inspecting this agreement, as he is very keen to make the move permanent, as only first choice goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon and key man Joe Lolley having started more games than Colback this season. If this contract news is true, it could be bad news for all parties as Colback’s high wages could have already been a stumbling block for Forest and having to pay a few million for him may deter any bids at all, leaving Newcastle stuck with a player whom most would consider deadwood.

Colback continues to impress in the Championship though, finding himself back in the side immediately following his 2 match suspension for picking up 10 yellow cards this season. Solid showings against West Brom and Preston helped his side get 2 draws away from home, with Forest snatching the 3 points against their local rivals Derby in a 1-0 win, with Colback once again collecting his customary yellow card. In his absence at the beginning of the month, Forest lost 2-0 to Birmingham and won 2-1 against Brentford, meaning they picked up 8 points from a possible 15. They remain in 9th and have closed the gap between them and the playoffs from 4 points to 3.

Dwight Gayle

Position: Striker



Club: West Bromwich Albion

Age: 28

Gayle’s injury concerns have subsided, playing in every game this month except for West Brom’s match against QPR, after Gayle was retrospectively suspended for diving in the previous game. The Baggies had a busy month that saw them play 7 games in 21 days. Gayle himself picked up 2 goals over February. His first came in a 3-2 loss against Middlesbrough, as a long diagonal ball from Mason Holgate was headed down to the edge of the box by Jay Rodriguez. Gayle took time to compose himself before hitting a low volley with his left foot. The shot may not have been going in, if not for a deflection off Daniel Ayala adjusting the course of the ball into the bottom right corner. The second goal of the month came a week later, and was the only goal of the game as West Brom beat Stoke 1-0. A central free kick from just outside the centre circle was chipped in to Ahmed Hegazy on the left side of the box, his technique was absolutely flawless as he volleyed a pass across the six yard box for Gayle to head into an empty net. That brings his tally to 16 goals this season, from only 27 appearances. West Brom meanwhile remain in 4th, still 4 points off the auto-promotion spots.. They play Leeds United on March 1st, which could see them claw back some ground on the top 3. They were also knocked out of the FA Cup in a 3-1 loss to Brighton, which Gayle was an unused substitute for.

Liam Gibson

Position: Left Back

Club: Accrington Stanley

Age: 21

After playing most of his first two games for Accrington in January, Gibson has been restricted to just 6 minutes of game time in the whole of February, having lost his place to Janoi Donacien, who joined Accrington on loan in January from Ipswich. With Donacien having more experience than Gibson, it could be a case that Gibson is just there for cover.

Achraf Lazaar

Position: Left Back

Club: Sheffield Wednesday

Age: 27

Lazaar made his first appearance for Sheffield Wednesday in the same game that Rolando Aarons made his first start, in the 3-1 win over Swansea. Both loanees were praised by many Wednesday fans over in the Internet with Lazaar being hailed for his offensive output, constantly getting forward and delivering crosses. Unfortunately, Lazaar picked up an injury in the following game vs Brentford, with Steve Bruce confirming that he will be injured for weeks. Hopefully he will be able to continue his bright start when he returns.

Wednesday went the month unbeaten, winning 3 and drawing 3. They’ve climbed 5 places in the league and now sit 12th, 17 points from relegation and 6 points from the playoffs. A mid-table finish still seems most likely but a continuation of this form could see them in with a chance of getting up there.

Jacob Murphy

Position: Right Winger

Club: West Bromwich Albion

Age: 24

After a disappointing start for West Brom, being lambasted for his debut performance vs Middlesbrough, Murphy has shone for West Brom, scoring twice in his 5 appearances this month as he shows promise of filling the hole that Harvey Barnes left in the side. He looks set for competition with Matt Phillips, but has done himself a favour with his performances against QPR and Nottingham Forest. His goal vs Forest came from a scramble for the ball in the box being poorly cleared, with Mason Holgate hitting it right back where it came from, with Murphy pouncing on it and nutmegging the goalkeeper after Jay Rodriguez was unable to control it. Against QPR, Murphy had a hand in the first goal as his shot was cleared off the line, but straight into the path of Jefferson Montero who had the easiest of chances. Murphy’s goal came early on in the second half, as a long ball forward was dealt with horribly by Joel Lynch under no pressure. Lynch’s header dropped to Murphy who had time and space to control, dispatching a shot into the far corner despite 3 QPR players in front of him. He missed out in West Brom’s final game of the month, a 1-0 loss to Sheffield United, but it seems he will be a regular for the Baggies.

Callum Roberts

Position: Winger

Club: Colchester United

Age: 21

Roberts is another youngster finding game time hard to come by, playing just over 20 minutes across 2 appearances for Colchester, being unable to make any impact so far. Colchester have had a strong month though, winning 2 and drawing 2 as they sit delicately inside the League Two playoff spots.

Henri Saivet

Position: Central Midfielder

Club: Bursaspor

Age: 28

Saivet featured regularly once more for Bursaspor, with little to no results for him nor his side. Saivet has not scored yet during his loan spell and has not registered an assist since November. Bursaspor have now not won in 9 matches, losing 3 out of 4 this month. They sit in the relegation zone in their league now and things need to improve soon if they don’t want to go down.

Elias Sørensen

Position: Striker

Club: Blackpool

Age: 19

Sørensen hasn’t made any more appearances since his debut vs Wycombe in late January and hasn’t made the bench since February 12th, in a game vs Sunderland. There hasn’t been any clarity on Sørensen’s situation and why he hasn’t even been on the bench, but Newcastle fans were very surprised to see that he featured for Newcastle’s U23 side against Leeds United U23s just a few days ago. There have been no signs that his loan has been cancelled, so it is probable that his loan deal involves a clause that allows him to play for both sides. Blackpool, meanwhile, have picked up 5 points from a possible 12 this month, sitting in 9th place in League One, 6 points away from the playoffs.

Jamie Sterry

Position: Right Back

Club: Crewe Alexandra

Age: 23

Sterry is yet another player who is just not featuring for his side. Crewe have named him on the bench for every game since his arrival, but are yet to feature him at all. Last season, Sterry was in and out the side while competing with Perry Ng, but it seems Ng has the upper hand on him now. Crewe picked up 5 points from a possible 12 this month and are secure in mid table in League Two.

Josef Yarney

Position: Centre Back

Club: Chesterfield

Age: 21

Yarney’s start to life at Chesterfield has been full of promise, conceding only once in his first 4 games for the National League side, including a 1-0 win away to high-flying AFC Fylde. Yarney’s addition to the squad seems to have given a much needed boost to the struggling Chesterfield side, as they have climbed to 17th in the league and 4 points clear of the drop.