The excellent start to the season continues for Liverpool under Arne Slot. But away from the glare of the first team, a number of players on the books are attempting to catch the eye of the new head coach.
A total of 13 players are presently on loan from the Reds, the majority seeking the senior experience they hope will bolster their attempts to make a concerted breakthrough into Slot’s first team.
And there have been some notable highs and significant lows among those who have made a temporary departure from Anfield this season.
It hasn’t been straightforward for Bajcetic after linking up with former Liverpool assistant boss Pep Lijnders in Austria, with suggestions his arrival has prompted unrest in the dressing room.
Nevertheless, the 20-year-old midfielder has been gaining much-needed regular minutes in the domestic league, although he was ill for Salzburg’s first Champions League win of the season in midweek, a 3-1 triumph at Slot’s former club Feyenoord
The 20-year-old winger has largely been restricted to regular substitute appearances but did score his first Championship goal last month in a win over Hull City.
And Gordon made his first start in midweek at Sheffield Wednesday, although he was replaced shortly before the hour in a 2-0 defeat.
Ben Doak (Middlesbrough)
Doak has started seven times already for Middlesbrough but was omitted at the weekend after suffering from fatigue. But the 18-year-old winger was recalled at QPR in midweek and contributed his first assist in a 4-1 win to earn praise from Boro boss Michael Carrick.
He had already scored his debut Championship goal in a win over Stoke City earlier in the campaign.
Lewis Koumas (Stoke City
Since making his Championship debut in the second game of the season, Koumas has appeared in all 17 Stoke matches with 13 as a starter, already racking up more than 1,000 senior minutes.
The 19-year-old forward has three goals and two assists, and featured in the 3-2 League Cup fourth round defeat to Southampton last week.
Owen Beck (Blackburn Rovers)
Beck, now 22, missed the midweek Championship defeat to Stoke with a sore back but has otherwise been a regular at left-back when available.
He missed three matches through suspension when sent off in the Lancashire derby at Preston North End in September for a tackle that prompted a melee in which he was bitten by Milutin Osmajic, subsequently resulting in an eight-game ban for the Preston player.
Calum Scanlon (Millwall)
Scanlon made his Championship bow in an 11-minute outing from the bench against Luton Town in September, after which a stress fracture of the back was diagnosed.
The 19-year-old left-back has been undergoing treatment at Liverpool and is unlikely to feature again before December.
Nat Phillips (Derby County)
A fifth loan spell away from Liverpool has thus far been something of a slow burner for Phillips.
The 27-year-old has been involved in all bar one Championship game, although his appearance in the 2-1 win at Coventry City in midweek was only his second start.
Calvin Ramsay (Wigan Athletic)
Injury and the form of other players has prompted Ramsay to be in and out of the Wigan team thus far, making three League One starts and another in the League Cup.
However, the 21-year-old right-back has been involved in the last four games and started the FA Cup win at Carlisle United over the weekend.
Luke Chambers (Wigan Athletic)
Chambers hit the ground running with the Latics, making 11 successive starts at left-back while contributing a goal and an assist.
But, similar to Scanlon, the 20-year-old left-back was diagnosed with a back injury last month and has since returned to Liverpool for treatment and is expected to be out for the foreseeable future.
The 23-year-old centre-back has experienced some difficult loan moves in recent years but has been an almost ever-present since moving to the League Two side.
The underwhelming form of the team, though, sees them sitting bottom of the Football League at present, although Williams scored in the 2-0 FA Cup win at Worthing last weekend.
Luca Stephenson (Dundee United)
The versatile 21-year-old has started all 11 games for the Scottish Premiership side effectively as a right wing-back.
Stephenson scored on his league debut against St Johnstone and has since contributed another goal and two assists to help the Tangerines to fourth place in the table.
The 21-year-old Brazilian goalkeeper is spending the season at the Scottish Championship side but has so far been limited to a solitary appearance in the Scottish Challenge Cup last month.
Fabian Mrozek (IF Brommapojkarna)
Another 21-year-old goalkeeper, the Pole started five games in the Allsvenskan – the Swedish top flight – but has been on the bench since the start of September
