Nine Aston Villa loanees featured across Europe and the UK this weekend. From Benfica to the Championship.
The majority of them could depart permanently in the summer, so Unai Emery will be hoping they finish the campaign strongly to increase their value.
For the others, they will want to impress the Spaniard to earn a place in his team next season.
Here the latest stats and match reports for the nine Aston Villa players in loan action over the April 4–5 weekend
Jimoh-Alobah and Dobbin feature in the Championship
Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba is probably Villa’s most exciting prospect and the most first-team-ready. After featuring 3 times for Emery’s squad this season and scoring the winner in the 3-2 comeback against Slazburg, the England U-20 international moved to local rivals West Brom in January.
He has made a total of 10 appearances for the Baggies, starting in 4 of them.
On Friday, the 19-year-old played 72 minutes of a 2-2 draw against Wrexham, only managing 19 touches and 3 passes. This lackluster performance has been the story of his time at the Hawthorns, only managing to register one assist and no goals.
Lewis Dobbin has been a key player for Preston since joining them last summer, starting in 27 out of his 33 matches. He added another assist to his tally against Leicester on Friday as they conceded a late equaliser to end the game 2-2.
That takes his goal contributions to 14 in the Championship, with 7 goals and assists each.
League One and Two action
Centre-back Josh Feeney was the sole player featuring in League One for Villa on Saturday. The 20-year-old came on in the 63rd minute on the right side of a back three. Huddersfield managed to draw level in the 96th minute to earn them a crucial point for their play-off push.
Dutch defender Sil Swinkels put in a fine performance for Chesterfield in League Two. His 11 defensive contributions, including 8 clearances, helped The Spireites receive their second clean sheet in a row. They currently sit in 7th, in the last remaining spot for promotion qualification.
Tommi O’Reilly was unable to add to his 10 assists for Crewe as they were beaten 2-0 away from home to Accrington. It was an uncharacteristic performance by the 22-year-old, failing to complete a successful dribble and winning just 5 out of his 11 ground duels.
Oldham loanee Kane Taylor scored his first goal for the club in a 3-1 win over Colchester. The ex-Manchester City youngster featured in the 69th minute, and neatly headed a cross into the bottom-right corner to take a 2-1 lead. A third late on secured the three points, moving the Lactics within one point of Chesterfield.
Broggio scores in Scotland and Gauci gets knocked out of the cup
Talented teenager Ben Broggio continued his impressive season for Scottish side Falkirk. The FA Youth Cup winner capitalised on a mistake at the back to score against Motherwell in a 3-2 victory. They extend their gap in the final Championship play-off spot to 9 points over Dundee United in 7th.
Elsewhere, goalkeeper Joe Gauci had a day to forget on Saturday. His Port Vale side were hammered 7-0 by Chelsea in the FA Cup quarter-final. The result means he has conceded 11 goals in his last two games.
At 25-years of age, the Australian is at a crossroads in his career. A starting role at Villa seems highly unlikely when he returns in the summer, leaving a permanent departure the most probable outcome.
Polish youth international, Oliwier Zych, was the final Villa loanee in action this weekend. The young goalkeeper came on in the 67th minute to replace the injured Kacper Trelowski. He was unable to prevent an equaliser scored by Widzew Łódź as it finished 1-1.
It means his team, Raków Częstochowa, continues their winless run of five straight games.
Heading into the final stretch of the season, many of the players’ teams have something to play for. Each of them will want to make a significant impact to improve their chances of a future at Aston Villa.
