Two Aston Villa youngsters have been singled out as EFL loan players to watch this season after leaving Unai Emery’s first-team picture in search of regular minutes.
The Guardian has named Samuel Iling-Junior and Tommi O’Reilly among nine Premier League-owned youngsters worth tracking across the Football League in 2026/27.
Iling-Junior is spending the season with Bolton Wanderers in the Championship, while O’Reilly has stepped up to League One with Doncaster Rovers.
Aston Villa loan duo earn national recognition
Iling-Junior joined Bolton on a season-long loan in August after another unsettled campaign away from Villa.
The 22-year-old has still not made a competitive appearance for Aston Villa since arriving from Juventus in 2024, instead spending time with Bologna, Middlesbrough, West Brom and Pisa before his latest move. BBC Sport confirmed his Bolton loan on 14 August.
The Guardian highlighted the winger’s technical ability and experience across English and Italian football, while identifying regular playing time as the key requirement at this stage of his career.
That makes the Championship spell an important one for both player and club.
Iling-Junior has already featured four times for Bolton this season, with Opta recording 197 Championship minutes so far.
O’Reilly’s situation is different.
The Villa academy graduate enjoyed an outstanding 2025/26 campaign with Crewe Alexandra, playing every League Two fixture and finishing with seven league goals and double figures for assists. Read Aston Villa previously covered how that form attracted interest from clubs higher up the EFL.
Villa ultimately sanctioned another temporary move rather than a permanent departure, with O’Reilly joining Doncaster on a season-long loan on 26 August.
The 22-year-old had also scored for Aston Villa Under-21s against Wigan shortly before making the move.
The Guardian pointed to O’Reilly’s creativity and development after a previous comparison with Phil Foden during his academy years, with the Doncaster spell now providing the next test of whether he can translate last season’s League Two dominance into the third tier.
Villa have two very different decisions developing
Neither loan guarantees a future under Emery.
But both players now have a season in which they can materially change the conversation around them.
For Iling-Junior, the issue is consistency. His career already contains Serie A, Championship and European experience, but he needs a sustained run of influential performances.
For O’Reilly, the task is progression.
He was one of League Two’s most productive attacking midfielders last season. If he can reproduce that output after stepping up a division, Villa will have a much clearer decision to make over his long-term future next summer.
That is why both loans are worth following.
And with two Villa-owned players appearing on a national list of the EFL’s most interesting young loanees, the club will be hoping their development continues away from Bodymoor Heath.
