Loaning out young players is hugely important for football clubs.
If a club can land their young prospect in the right environment, it could have significant bearing on their development.
Ultimately, the goal is to prepare them as best as possible so they have a chance of breaking through into the club’s own first-team.
Newcastle United sent out seven players ahead of the 2021/22 season.
Here’s how each of them have been getting on so far.
Rodrigo Vilca – Doncaster Rovers
Peruvian starlet Vilca joined Newcastle in 2020 from Deportivo Municipal for a fee of £225,000.
The club have very high hopes for him.
He was sent to Doncaster Rovers ahead of 2021/22 but has now returned to Newcastle.
At the time of writing, Vilca made 13 appearances for the club, scoring two goals and making a couple of assists.
Back in September, Richie Wellens said that Vilca reminded him of former Toon cult hero Nobby Solano.
Matty Longstaff – Aberdeen
Matty Longstaff is probably the player Newcastle fans will be most keen to know about.
He has obviously dipped his toe into first-team football at St. James’ Park.
But Steve Bruce regularly overlooked him last term, and the decision was taken for him to go on loan to Aberdeen.
Frustratingly, things have not gone so well for the younger Longstaff brother. He only made five appearances for a total of 283 minutes. The midfielder has already made his return to Newcastle, with Eddie Howe now set to take a look at him.
According to the Chronicle earlier this month, Longstaff had a ‘nightmare’ stint, suffering from strong competition in midfield at the club. His lack of minutes has meant he hasn’t been able to gather any real momentum.
Jake Turner – Colchester United
Goalkeeper Jake Turner had to be patient for his League Two, not appearing until the game against Stevenage on November 22.
He came on as a substitute in the match for the injured Shamal George, and has played in every league match since.
Turner has also made a further three appearances in the EFL Trophy.
Lewis Cass – Port Vale
Lewis Cass enjoyed a terrific loan spell with Hartlepool United last season, helping the club to seal promotion back to the Football League.
And Cass is flourishing once again this season with League Two side Port Vale.
The 21-year-old is pretty much a regular having made 24 appearances already. He has played as both a wing-back and a right-sided centre-back. He has generally really impressed supporters with how comfortable he is in either role.
It seems most Vale fans would love Cass to be their player permanently – it remains to be seen what Newcastle have to say about that.
Kell Watts – Wigan Athletic
Kell Watts impressed for Newcastle in pre-season.
Some felt he should have been kept in the first-team, but he was loaned to Wigan Athletic.
Watts started well with the League One side, but has not made a league appearance for the club now since October 30.
He has been featuring in the EFL Trophy and FA Cup, but it seems he is currently out of favour for those league games as he has been making the bench.
Hopefully he can force his way back into that Latics starting XI.
Oisin McEntee and Tom Allan – Greenock Morton
Republic of Ireland youth international Oisin McEntee is currently on loan with Greenock Morton in the Scottish Championship.
The 6ft 3in central defender has so far made 13 appearances for the club, which is currently bottom of the table.
Also with Morton is Newcastle is forward Tom Allan.
He has made 11 appearances so far, and is yet to get off the mark for the struggling club.
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