Loan Tracker: April

It’s been fascinating to watch all of these loanees and their respective teams and how their respective season battles are panning out. This month has been very definitive for some of these players, but for others it has spelled disaster. This month the first relegation was pegged into the ground, a title race took a turn for the worse, and numerous promotion bids entered another twist. Who will be this months star player? Read on and find out!

The Gold Category

Martin Ødegaard - (Vitesse Arnhem, Eredivisie)

Appearances: 5

Goals: 1

Assists: 3

Martin’s month started off April in superb fashion, shining during the 2-2 draw with AZ Alkmaar. A mixutre of the woodwork and some superb blocks and saves stopped him getting on the assist or scoring list, but some of his skillfull highlights were still broadcast all over this internet. Perhaps his best performance of the month came next as Vitesse took on PSV Eindhoven. The games against the ‘big three’ in Holland are some of the most important for Martin, and he may well have just swung the league title in Ajax’s favour. His goal and a range of other contributions wasn’t enough to beat PSV, but the late 3-3 draw did send them into second place. Against Utrecht the gods were again working against him as he did everything but get on the stats sheet during a 0-0 draw. The next game against PEC Zwolle was different. For once it was all going for him, as he bagged a hat-trick of assists in a 4-1 win, all from set pieces, and was involved in the fourth - all whilst again racking up a significant highlight reel. He became the first Vitesse player to gain three assist in one game since 2005. The last outing was no easy one against high flyers Ajax, and although Vitesse lost 4-2 in a goal frenzy - Martin once again played very well and caught the attention of plenty of the home fans. April’s player of the month is the first to pick up the title twice this season.

EDIT: He announced today on social media that he had been named the Eredivisie player of the month for april!

Borja Mayoral - (Levante, La Liga)

Appearances: 6

Goals: 0

Assists: 1

Another month, another single number added to the pile. An assist against Espanyol was enough to claim a draw for the struggling Levante. Borja featured in all six games in April, but only completed one - against league champions Barcelona of all teams, in a 1-0 defeat. If he can bring in more than one contribution next month, then he can at least end the season on a high. Levante will really need that from him too, as they sit just two points above the drop zone.

Aleix Febas - (Albacete, La Liga2)

Appearances: 4

Goals: 2

Assists: 1

Albacete have been hanging on up there by a string, and the last game of April was when they fell from the promotion spots. Febas had his best month for the team yet, playing every game as bagging two goals and an assist whilst doing so. He was given the man of the match award twice, and also made one of the team of the weeks. His form is exactly what his team needs as they start to dig deep and charge through the remaining games. It is clear that both the Real Madrid loanees are ready to give La Liga a crack, and I really hope that they are able to do that under Luis Miguel Ramis at Albacete.

Álvaro Tejero - (Albacete, La Liga2)

Appearances: 3

Goals: 0

Assists: 1

Tejero is bringing in more assists than many of the players on the loan list, and in April he added another one during the 4-2 win over Las Palmas. He completed three of the four games, being unavailable for the last one. They lost that game against leaders Osasuna without him, which was the match that saw them fall from the automatic promotion places. Alabcete probably have the longest to go out of any other team here (besides the other LaLiga2 players). Their season could stretch to two more months, which is gruelling. It does now give them plenty of time to get back into those deserved La Liga promotion places, though.

The Silver Category

Raúl de Tomás - (Rayo Vallecano, La Liga)

Appearances: 4

Goals: 2

Assists: 1

The good times keep on coming for de Tomás, even if it’s looking gloomy for Rayo. Raúl missed two games this month as Real Madrid were never going to let him shame them, and he was suspended for the Sevilla game. He still got through four games in April, scoring twice and gaining one assist. His goal in the win against Valencia has given the Madrid based side hope of surivival. He also scored against Bilbao, but both that contribution and his assist against Eibar didn’t earn his side any points. If Rayo do manage to stay up next month then it will be quite some story, and Raúl will surely be the author of it.

Óscar Rodríguez - (Leganés, La Liga)

Appearances: 3

Goals: 0

Assists: 0

This was probably Óscar’s worst month yet this season, simply because he didn’t feature very much. When he did, his performances were pretty muted. It wasn’t all his fault, as he wasn’t allowed to play against parent club Real Madrid. He was benched for the Bilbao game after featuring against Villarreal, but he did end the month strongly with a start against Celta Vigo. If he can get back to his usual numbers next month that will put that cap on a superb season.

Andriy Lunin - (Leganés, La Liga)

Appearances: 0

Clean Sheets: 0

No games played for Andriy once again. What a waste for such an obviously talented keeper. He was banned for the Madrid game, but realistically was not going to play in that anyway. One more month.

The Bronze Category

Lusimi Quezada - (Córdoba, La Liga2)

Apperances: 0

Goals: 0

Assists: 0

Córdoba are all but down and will be relegated next month. It’s gone horribly wrong for Luismi Quezada as he did not feature at all for the second month straight now. Not even on the bench. This season will have killed his Madrid hopes, but hopefully he can maintain his current level at a different club next season. Getting back on the pitch should be his aim for next month.

Sergio Díaz - (Corinthians, Brasileiro Série A)

Appearances: 0

Goals: 0

Assists: 0

No games for Sergio. I want him to return to Castilla next season, given that Solari stays away. He needs to learn to walk again, and I feel a development squad backed up by strong coaching could be one of the only ways to try and make that happen. That, or a return home.

Achraf Hakimi - (Borussia Dortmund, Bundesliga)

Appearances: 0

Goals: 0

Assists: 0

Achraf is highly unlikely to play again this season due to his foot injury, which caused him to play no games during April. It is now looking unlikely that he’ll be in for that Bundesliga medal either, as Dortmund lost 4-2 to rivals Schalke - allowing Bayern to pull further ahead in the title race. With three games left to go next month they are still more than in it, but they will need some help from elsewhere to get it done.

The White Category

Pablo Margallo - (Unión Adarve, Segunda División B)

Appearances: 1

Goals: 0

Assists: 0

Usually there is nothing to add for Pablo, and this month there is almost nothing to add. However, he did manage to actually get on the pitch, even if it was just for eight minutes, for the 4-2 defeat against Celta Vigo B. That takes his season appearances up to five. With one month to go, it’d be nice if he could add to that before the season is done. Unión Adarve are right in the middle of a relegation battle though, and are currently losing.

Lin Liangming - (Almería (B), La Liga2/Segunda División B)

Appearances: 4

Goals: 1

Assists: 0

Lin played every game after returning from national team duty last month, and grabbed another goal in the 2-1 defeat to Villanovense. Almería’s B team were actually relegated from Segunda B this month, and will return to Tercera next year. For Lin, who is now an established player at third tier level and has even featured multiple times for the first team - it will be interesting to see what happens to him this summer after his loan expires. Still, there is one final month of care free games left for Lin to breeze through.

For the majority of these players, there is still one huge month to go. Some face even more than that to achieve their goals. In may, there will be relegation's. There will be teams in promotion play-offs. And if we’re lucky, there may even be some champions taking home a league winners medal. Everyone has the chance to add a positive month to their seasons, no matter how they’ve fared so far. The next report is set to be a big one. Have you been watching any of these players? Let me know your thoughts on their progress down below.

Star Player: Martin Ødegaard.