Reasons for and against: Clubs loaning players from within the Premier League

The chances are that you fall on one side or the other of this issue, so let’s rattle through the pros and cons of this as it starts to trend…

Reasons for…

– Loaning outfield players from other Premier League clubs makes the league more competitive. Clubs will inferior resources are able to bring talent into their sides that their budget or status would otherwise have not allowed. Enduring the financial risks associated with buying elite-level players is perilous for a lot of clubs.

– It can be a key part of the grooming process for young English players at big clubs. Think Jack Wilshere, Daniel Sturridge, Kyle Walker, and Joe Hart – all of whom benefited from loan spells before they were able to command first-team places at their parent clubs. Dropping down a level and sending those players to Championship clubs would have only stunted their development curves.

– It can rejuvenate careers. Players who are stuck on the fringes of a squad and looking for a move have no shop window, whereas a loan spell provides the perfect opportunity to demonstrate their ability and secure a transfer at the end of it.

Reasons against…

– Because loanees are ordinarily ineligible against their parent clubs, and – hypothetically – strategic loaning can disadvantage the rivals of those clubs.

– It allows affluent clubs to stock pile talent. If you’re able to subsidise your wage bill through the loan system, what stops you accumulating as much talent as possible – guarding it from your rivals – and allocating players to clubs that aren’t a direct threat to you?

– Any short-term transfer system encourages mercenary attitudes amongst players, and the loan system is no different. If I’m a player, and I know that I can get a weighty contract from a club whilst having the back-up guarantee of first-team football at a decent level, I’m no longer making career decisions on a football basis.