Club Loanees Shine Across Europe in 2025/26 Season
The 2025/26 season scattered the club’s talent across Europe and beyond, and many of them came back with medals, milestones and, in some cases, new homes.
Kiwior the standard-bearer
If one loan summed up what a temporary move can do for a career, it was Jakub Kiwior at Porto. He didn’t just play; he anchored a title-winning defence.
Twenty-six league appearances in a Primeira Liga triumph, a place in the division’s Team of the Season and a sense of authority that grew with every week. Add eight Europa League outings, five more in the Taca de Portugal, and regular duty with Poland, and the picture is clear: this was a defender operating at full tilt. No surprise he’ll join Porto permanently in July.
Vieira finds his touch in Hamburg
In Germany, Fabio Vieira finally enjoyed the rhythm he had been searching for. Thirty-one games for Hamburg, seven goals, six assists – solid numbers backed by big-moment contributions.
His calm penalty to open the scoring against Bayern Munich in January underlined his composure on a big stage. Over the course of the season, he became a creative reference point, the kind of player team-mates look for when the game needs a spark.
Nelson’s homecoming and Nwaneri’s breakthrough
Back in England, Reiss Nelson needed a jolt. Brentford gave him one. He marked his debut with a goal and an assist in a ruthless 5-0 Carabao Cup win over Grimsby Town, a reminder of his directness and end product. Fourteen appearances followed in all competitions, 10 of them in the Premier League, as he fought for minutes and relevance in a demanding environment.
Ethan Nwaneri took a different path, heading to Marseille and stepping straight into the noise of Ligue 1. Eleven appearances, two goals, one assist – and crucially, impact. His first goal came on his league debut in a 3-1 win over Lens, a statement in a country that quickly recognises attacking talent. The reward arrived swiftly: a place in an England senior squad, on the bench as they edged New Zealand 1-0. A teenager suddenly brushing shoulders with the elite.
Zinchenko’s reset and Hein’s resilience
Oleksandr Zinchenko’s year split in two. Nottingham Forest used him sparingly – five Premier League games, three in the Europa League, one each in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup – but he still etched his name into their history as the first Ukrainian to play for the club. Then came the permanent move to Ajax, a fresh start at a club that understands technical, ball-playing full-backs.
Karl Hein’s season in the Bundesliga was more stop-start. Two early matches against Bayern Munich for St. Pauli, then a long spell watching from the bench, before a thumb injury cut short his campaign. Yet on the international stage he remained a constant, captaining Estonia and helping them to a 1-0 friendly win over Faroe Islands. Club frustration, national-team authority.
Women’s game: setbacks, silverware and scoring streaks
Across the women’s game, the loan stories carried everything from heartbreak to silverware.
Rosa Kafaji became a regular for Brighton & Hove Albion, playing 24 times in all competitions and scoring twice. She settled into the rhythm of English football and offered steady attacking threat.
Michelle Agyemang also started the season on the south coast, scoring once in five Barclays Women’s Super League matches before an ACL injury abruptly cut short her loan. A brutal pause to a promising spell.
At Aston Villa, Jenna Nighswonger quietly pieced together eight WSL appearances, chipping in with an assist and adding depth to a side pushing for consistency.
Drop down a tier and the story becomes more explosive. Jessie Gale split her season between Portsmouth and Bristol City and barely stopped scoring. Nine goals and two assists in 27 matches across all competitions tell the tale of a forward who adapted quickly to different dressing rooms and demands.
Vivienne Lia’s campaign took her from Nottingham Forest to a cup-winning run in Sweden. Twelve appearances in all competitions for Forest laid the groundwork, then a loan to Hammarby IF brought silverware as she helped them win the Svenska Cupen against BK Hacken. She added a goal in 10 outings for the Swedish side, contributing to a trophy run that will stay with her.
Laila Harbert’s year spanned continents. She began in the NWSL with Portland Thorns, making five appearances in a fiercely competitive league, then moved to Everton in January and featured once in the WSL against Chelsea. Two very different environments, one steep learning curve.
Madison Earl’s progress came with landmark moments. Eight games for Ipswich Town yielded her first goal for The Tractor Girls in an FA Cup third round win over AFC Portchester, a performance that also brought two assists and the Player of the Round award. A January move to Glasgow City in SWPL 1 followed, and she debuted in a commanding 4-0 win over Partick Thistle.
Naomi Williams clocked important minutes for Bristol City, starting three Subway Women’s League Cup fixtures and building her senior experience. Cecily Wellesley-Smith also took the Scandinavian route. After a loan start at Leicester City, where she debuted in the League Cup against Ipswich Town, she moved to FC Rosengard for the second half of the season. There she headed in her first goal in a 3-0 win over Vaxjo DFF, closing out the Svenska Cupen campaign on a high. Two goals in 11 matches underlined her growing presence in both boxes.
Academy graduates in the grind
The men’s academy loanees lived in the unforgiving world of lower-league football, where every point and every mistake carries weight.
Ismeal Kabia thrived in it. Forty-three appearances for Shrewsbury Town across all competitions, three goals, two assists and, crucially, a central role in their successful fight to avoid relegation from League Two. His goals were not padding; they were headline moments. A late leveller against Sutton United in the FA Cup. A long-range screamer in the 96th minute to snatch a 2-2 draw with Fleetwood Town. He became one of the first names on the team sheet, regularly completing the full 90 minutes.
In Sweden, Charles Sagoe Jr offered end product for Kalmar FF. Two goals and five assists in just 12 games across the Allsvenskan and Svenska Cupen marked him out as a direct, incisive presence in the final third.
Maldini Kacurri’s time in League Two with Morecambe showcased a defender comfortable under pressure. Eighteen appearances, one goal, one assist and a reputation for reliability that saw him regularly play full matches before a permanent move to Grimsby Town. Twice he collected Morecambe’s Player of the Month award, a clear sign of how highly he was valued.
Lucas Nygaard’s season with Brabrand IF in Denmark was about survival. Twelve appearances in the second division, a fourth-place finish in Group B and then the tension of relegation play-offs. Brabrand stayed up by seven points, with Nygaard keeping two clean sheets during the decisive run-in. Those are the nights that shape a goalkeeper.
Louie Copley’s spell at Crawley Town brought nine League Two outings and an assist, while Harrison Dudziak picked up valuable senior experience with five games in midfield for Braintree Town in the National League across December and January.
William Sweet rounded off the loan ledger at Dagenham & Redbridge. Ten appearances in National League South, one crucial goal in a 1-0 win away to Chesham United – a tight, gritty victory that summed up life in the lower divisions.
From title races in Porto and cup finals in Sweden to survival scraps in League Two and National League South, the club’s loanees lived almost every version of a football season. The question now is simple: who turns those hard miles into a permanent place in the spotlight next year?
