Loan Watch: 2025/2026 Season Review

If you’re a fan of the Premier League, you will know how the 2025/26 season unfolded. You’ll know which players thrived, who surpassed expectations, and which players flopped miserably.

What you might not know is how those sent out on loan from the division’s biggest clubs performed, and that’s what Loan Watch is all about.

Throughout the 2026/27 campaign, we will keep you up to date with a weekly digest on the brightest talents across the EPL, sent out on loan to fast-track their development.

Our work will cover everything you need to know. Where they’re playing, the number of minutes they are getting and how well they are performing.

Before the new season gets underway, though, let’s kick things off with a 2025/26 season review, taking a deep dive into those talents who impressed while trying to prove their abilities away from their parent clubs, as well as providing an overview of the loan moves that didn’t go so smoothly.

The best loanee performers during the 2025/26 season

Let’s get stuck into the pick of the bunch, the loanees who really stood out for their temporary clubs.

Lewis Dobbin

Parent club: Aston Villa
On loan at: Preston North End (Championship)
Position: Forward
Age: 23
Appearances while on loan: 41

Loaned out from Aston Villa, Lewis Dobbin quickly established himself as a key player for Championship side Preston North End last season, making 39 league appearances.

Mainly deployed as a forward in a front two, Dobbin proved to be a real handful for Championship defences, scoring ten goals and also registering eight assists, showing that he can create chances as well as take them.

With Dobbin as a key part of their attack, Preston North End finished the Championship season in a modest 14th place, never really challenging for the play-offs, but without the Aston Villa youngster, they would’ve finished a good bit lower.

Eye-catching stat: No Preston North End player scored more league goals than Lewis Dobbin in the 2025/26 season.

Diego Coppola

Parent club: Brighton
On loan at: Paris FC (Ligue 1)
Position: Central Defender
Age: 22
Appearances while on loan: 13

Italian defender Diego Coppola caught the eye of what is widely known to be a shrewd scouting team at Brighton when playing in Serie A for Hellas Verona during the 2024/25 season, prompting the English club to pay 11 million euros for the services of the youngster.

Starved of game time on the South Coast during the first half of the season, Diego Coppola may become more familiar to Brighton fans next season following what was a hugely promising loan spell in Ligue 1 for Paris FC.

Coppola quickly established himself as a starter for the Ligue 1 side, playing 90 minutes week in, week out between matchday 22 and matchday 34, helping the lesser-known club from the French capital to finish 11th. With the Italian at the heart of their defence, the Parisians rarely lost, while only conceding more than one goal in three out of 13 games. Paris FC also lost just three out of 13 Ligue 1 games with Coppola in the side.

Eye-catching stat: Diego Coppola ended the 2025/26 season having averaged more clearances than any other Paris FC player.

Joe Gelhardt

Parent club: Leeds United
On loan at: Hull City
Position: Forward
Age: 24
Appearances while on loan: 41

Having spent part of the previous campaign on loan there, Joe Gelhardt returned to Hull City for the full campaign in 2025/26, and it turned out to be a rather shrewd acquisition from the Tigers, who benefited massively from the offensive capabilities of the Leeds loanee.

The 24-year-old ended the season as Hull’s top scorer, playing a leading role in what turned out to be a stunning promotion campaign.

Only one Hull player – former Premier League star Ollie McBurnie – made more direct goal contributions than Gelhardt, who finished the Championship season having scored and assisted a total of 19 goals, averaging 0.59 goals and assists per 90 minutes.

Eye-catching stat: Just six Championship players registered more goals and assists combined than Joe Gelhardt during the 2025/26 season.

Mike Penders

Parent club: Chelsea
On loan at: Strasbourg (Ligue 1)
Position: Goalkeeper
Age: 20
Appearances while on loan: 52

Regarded as a club that sends an awful lot of youngsters out on loan, often to continental leagues, Chelsea may soon be looking to utilise the talents of young goalkeeper Mike Penders, who will return to the Blues off the back of a fantastic spell between the sticks for Strasbourg in France’s Ligue 1.

Despite only being 20, Penders quickly nailed down the number one spot at Strasbourg, catching the eye for his speedy reactions and ability to make strong saves from close range, making no fewer than 52 appearances in all competitions.

Having played the full season in Ligue 1, Penders has shown that he’s worthy of being deployed as the starting keeper for a European-level team, and that’s why he’s in the Belgium World Cup squad.

Eye-catching stat: Only one Ligue 1 keeper made more saves than Mike Penders during the 2025/26 season.

Mamadou Sarr

Parent club: Chelsea
On loan at: Strasbourg (Ligue 1)
Position: Central Defender
Age: 20
Appearances while on loan: 18

Also from Chelsea, central defender Mamadou Sarr played alongside Mike Penders at Strasbourg last season, and although he did not spend as much time with the French club as the Belgian goalkeeper, he impressed during his short spell, offering a mix of physicality and confidence on the ball.

Sarr made 15 Ligue 1 appearances for Strasbourg, showing himself to be competent both as a ball winner and with the ball at his feet. It was encouraging to see how comfortable the youngster is in possession, often playing the ball neatly out from the back. He’s also a smart dribbler, and it is perhaps his ability to cleverly play and carry the ball in defensive areas that earned him a call-up to the Senegalese national team ahead of the World Cup.

Likely to head out on loan again next season, Sarr, who was recalled by Chelsea in February, has the ability to be an asset for teams looking to make a statement in any of Europe’s top leagues next term.

Eye-catching stat: Strasbourg conceded a maximum of one goal in 10 of the 15 games that Mamadou started in Ligue 1 during the 2025/26 season.

Enzo Barrenechea

Parent club: Aston Villa
On loan at: Benfica (Liga Portugal)
Position: Defensive Midfielder
Age: 25
Appearances while on loan: 43

On loan from Aston Villa, Enzo Barrenechea enjoyed a promising campaign with Portuguese giants Benfica, who finished third behind Sporting and Porto.

A combative midfielder who is not only physical but equally adept at winning the ball and retaining possession for his team, Barrenechea has all the attributes to be a top-level midfielder.

The Argentine was one of Jose Mourinho’s most-used players last season, showcasing just how valuable he can be. Having played well in the UEFA Champions League while with Benfica, he’s clearly a player with a bright future, and it will be interesting to see where his path leads him if he’s not to be used by Aston Villa over the next campaign.

Eye-catching stat: Only two midfielders played more league minutes than Enzo Barrenechea for Benfica during the 2025/26 season.

Vitor Reis

Parent club: Man City
On loan at: Girona (LaLiga)
Position: Central Defender
Age: 20
Appearances while on loan: 38

Also spending the last season on loan from Man City was Vitor Reis, a young central defender who has a big future ahead of him.

Only 19 at the start of the 2025/26 campaign, Reis rapidly established himself as a key player for Girona in Spain’s LaLiga, where he didn’t waste much time in making a name for himself as a no-nonsense defender willing to throw his body on the line.

Ultimately, Girona’s season ended in tears, with the team from the outskirts of Madrid suffering relegation, but the Brazilian was one of the few who could rightly walk away from the campaign with his head held high after delivering several strong performances.

They may be heading down to the second division of Spanish football, but this youngster will almost certainly be playing at the top level next season.

Eye-catching stat: Vitor Reis played more LaLiga minutes for Girona during the 2025/26 season than any other player.

Juma Bah

Parent club: Man City
On loan at: Nice (Ligue 1)
Position: Central Defender
Age: 20
Appearances while on loan: 41

Challenging Vitor Reis and Enzo Barrenechea for the title of best Man City loanee during the previous campaign was Juma Bah, who was forged into an accomplished centre back while playing for Ligue 1’s Nice.

At just 19, Bah regularly featured at the start of the previous Ligue 1 season, going on to make 41 appearances in all competitions for the Côte d’Azur side. A full-blooded defender, Bah is very good at making interceptions, using his pace and off-the-ball awareness to snuff out opposition attacks.

He’s strong on the ball too and is more than happy to play out from the back, which often helped Nice maintain a level of control in games, especially when they were battling the drop late on. With Bah at the heart of the backline, the French Riviera side saved themselves from relegation, losing only one of their last four league games.

Bah was also an integral part of the team that secured semi-final glory in the Coupe de France. Strangely, after helping the side earn a clean sheet in the semi, Bah was left out of the XI for the final, and that turned out to be a costly move as Nice were nowhere near as strong defensively, eventually losing 3-1 to Lens.

Eye-catching stat: Juma Bah was Nice’s second-best player in terms of clearances in Ligue 1 last season.

Loan moves that didn’t work out

Now for those loan moves that didn’t quite have the desired effect. After all, not every player who goes out on loan comes back brimming with confidence having become a key player during their time away. Many return to their parent clubs having struggled, either for form, minutes or both.

Yang Min-hyeok

Parent club: Tottenham
On loan at: Portsmouth/Coventry (Championship)
Position: Winger
Age: 20
Appearances while on loan: 20

Yang Min-Hyeok started the season on loan at Portsmouth, where he was used a reasonable amount, amassing 16 appearances, scoring three goals, but things quickly went downhill after he was recalled by Spurs, only to be sent back out on loan to Coventry, where he played just four times before the end of the campaign, spending only 101 minutes on the pitch.

Tawanda Chirewa

Parent club: Wolves
On loan at: Barnsley (League One)
Position: Winger
Age: 22
Appearances while on loan: 1

Having made a couple of brief appearances for Wolves during the first half of the campaign, Tawanda Chirewa was loaned out to Barnsley in January, but a disappointing and injury-hit spell resulted in the Zimbabwe international making only one appearance for the League One side.

Ethan Wheatley

Parent club: Manchester United
On loan at: Bradford (League One)
Position: Winger/Forward
Age: 20
Appearances while on loan: 12

Something of a versatile forward, Ethan Wheatley went to Bradford City on loan in January following a reasonable spell at Northampton, though the Manchester United youngster struggled to cope with the cut and thrust of England’s third division the second time round, failing to hold down a regular spot, making just 12 appearances, only six of which came from the start, scoring no goals, registering no assists.

Harrison Ashby

Parent club: Newcastle United
On loan at: Bradford (League One)
Position: Defensive Midfield
Age: 24
Appearances while on loan: 8

Joining Wheatley at Bradford as a loanee was Harrison Ashby, who was sent to League One from Newcastle United, though the Premier League club didn’t exactly see their player thrive at third-division level, with Ashby making only two starts and a further six substitute appearances.