Loan Check: How Are The Kids?

Suso: We've talked about Suso's stint at Almeria at length several times now, but I feel the need to emphasize just how good he's been down in Spain. In his five matches for the Andalusian side, he's quickly become a focal point of their attack, dictating play and making things happen with his feet. This loan was exactly what he needed to take the next step of his development, and hopefully Liverpool will be reaping the benefits of that either next season or the season after. In the meantime, he can enjoy Spain's southern coast and success in one of the world's top leagues.

João Carlos Teixeira: Teixeira got a late substitute appearance in his first match with League One outfit Brentford, against Tranmere Rovers a week ago. Statements made by Brentford's manager, Uwe Rosler, seem to indicate that he plans to make significant use of the Portuguese youngster's creative talents while he's in his side, a term currently scheduled to last until January 5th.

Jack Robinson: Robinson has already amassed seven starts for Blackpool, going the full 90 each time. He's been excellent for the Tangerines in attack from his left back position, rampaging forward and providing good crosses, leading to two assists already in the young season. However, he's also shown that he needs work in defense. He's been caught out of position a number of times, which has lead to some desperate moments and several bookings, meaning he's already spent a match suspended. At his age and with his skillset, these issues are to be expected, and hopefully getting regular playing time in the Championship will help him develop his defensive tools.

Fabio Borini: This is a bit of a tough situation. Borini just made his first start under Paolo Di Canio this weekend, going an hour in Sunderland's 3-0 loss at West Brom after a 20-minute substitute appearance in his debut against Arsenal the week before. While he's definitely still gelling in to the team and building his fitness up to snuff, he was definitely his usual active self, pressing well and making a nuisance of himself. However, Di Canio was sacked yesterday (quite deservingly, to be fair), and it's far from a guarantee that the Black Cats' new manager will make any sort of significant use of the Italian forward. At this point, we can only cross our fingers and hope.

Krisztián Adorján: Adorjan has had a good time of things with FC Groningen in the Eredivise, scoring twice in two starts for the Dutch side, including this lovely effort in the box for his first goal. Unfortunately, that match also saw him get sent off for an elbow swung at another player's face, which is viewable in that same video. That saw him suspended for two matches, though he was back in the starting lineup at the first opportunity this past weekend, which saw him score the goal below, which saw him take the ball about thirty yards outside the box, dribble in to it, and then fire past the keeper.

Conor Coady: Coady had a good early spell with Sheffield United, cementing himself in their lineup early on in their midfield. However, a rough run of results has seen him pinned to the bench their last two matches. His own performances have been, by all reports, a mixed bag, with stretches of quality mixed in with periods of looking lost at sea, getting himself stranded out of position and frankly overrun at times. Coady's star has been slowly falling over the last couple of years, and he needs this loan to work out well to keep any chance of a promising future at higher levels of the game. Hopefully he can get things turned around soon.

Michael Ngoo: Ngoo has made six appearances with Championship side Yeovil town, with two starts and featuring four times as a sub. He has yet to score or, frankly, look all that impressive. That's certainly in part because of a toothless Yeovil attack, as the club has scored just three goals in league play. They did have a five goal outburst in the League Cup against Birmingham City in late August, but Ngoo didn't participate in that match, and they actually managed to lose the tie anyways. I've never been a huge Ngoo fan, but his athletic prowess is hard to deny. If he can find a way to harness it, he could be a very intriguing prospect indeed.

Pepe Reina: While Reina is likely not going to be wearing red in Liverpool any time soon, he did make a fantastic penalty save against Mario Balotelli yesterday to keep Milan scoreless not long after Napoli had gone up 2-0 at the San Siro. Still, while Reina has largely been quite good for my favorite Italian side, with two clean sheets in five matches, he's also had a not-inconsiderable amount of Reina Moments (TM) that have made Napoli fans pull their hair out in frustration and nerves.

Oussama Assaidi: Assaidi has yet to appear for Stoke this season, but he did have three assists in a reserve league match for them two weeks ago, so there's that.