The Athletic reported that for young players, loan moves are often a common path to earning first-team playing time. However, being loaned out at 24 or 25 typically signals that a player needs to revive a stalling career.

Chelsea's Badiashile (loaned to Napoli), Garnacho (loaned to Aston Villa), and Villa's Guehi (loaned to Crystal Palace) are all Premier League players who fell out of favour at their parent clubs and are hoping to revive their careers through loan deals.

In January 2025, Manchester United's former forward Antony joined Real Betis on loan and completed a permanent transfer to the club six months later. Trevoh Chalobah subsequently joined Como; his brief loan spell at Crystal Palace allowed him to continue playing in the Premier League while temporarily out of favour at Chelsea.

However, some loan deals have failed to deliver desired results. For example, Sterling was loaned from Chelsea to Arsenal for much of the 2024-25 season but started just seven Premier League matches over nine months.

These loan arrangements appear straightforward: the parent club typically covers at least part of the player's wages, the player gets more playing time than desired, and the loaning club gains squad depth or even a ready-made starter. Yet for a deal to benefit all three parties, careful consideration remains essential.

First, clubs interested in signing a loan player naturally have concerns about committing to a player rejected elsewhere.

An anonymous source who previously worked in recruitment at a Premier League club said: "There's always a reason why a player isn't playing when it comes to these loan deals, and that's probably not ideal. So you have to do as much due diligence as possible to confirm they're not injured or going to cause problems elsewhere."

The source added that limited recent playing time at the parent club naturally raises fitness concerns.

"If they only played 500 minutes last season, how can you be certain they can come in and play 90 minutes twice a week?"

In such cases, clubs may be willing to share training data or GPS tracking data from set pieces to allay concerns. If a player has featured for the U21s during their absence from the first team, loaning clubs keen on potential can also review physical data from those matches.

Playing style is another consideration. However, the former Premier League club staff member believes that positively, once a player reaches a certain age, even with limited recent playing time, their on-pitch characteristics are relatively easy to identify.

"In most cases, when a player is around 24, what you see is basically what you get. So to assess players of this type, you simply review their matches when they played regularly: 'What type of striker is he? What formation do they play in? Is that similar to how we play, to our formation?' It's entirely like assessing a player for a permanent transfer."

A loan deal may be cheaper than an outright purchase due to no immediate transfer fee, but financial considerations remain, such as what percentage of the player's wages each party will cover.

In August 2010, 23-year-old Onuoha was loaned from Manchester City to Sunderland, and his primary concern at the time was getting more playing time. The former defender told The Athletic: "Fundamentally, you just want to play football, that's the crux of it."

Onuoha noted that for older, established players, where they're sent may matter more. "But when you're young, all you think about is trying to play football because you still believe you can build a career for yourself. If someone wants to sign you and promises you regular starts, you have two choices: one side clearly wants you, and the other clearly doesn't."

Onuoha said many clubs have loan managers helping players identify their best next move, but their work typically focuses on academy graduates and young players hoping to progress to the first team. "Older players, in most cases, have to fend for themselves."

Playing time is the core requirement for most loaned players, so the new club's manager's approval is crucial for a successful loan deal.

The recruitment source said: "Like any contract, the manager is the most important person. Because the manager must trust this player, understand him: what kind of person is he, what are his strengths, and can he fit the team's formation?"

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery is one of the Premier League managers willing to bet on out-of-favour players.

Under Emery's management, Villa loaned out-of-favour Marcus Rashford from Manchester United in January 2025, Jadon Sancho from Manchester United in the 2025-26 season, and now Garnacho from Chelsea. Garnacho will join Villa on loan for the new season with a conditional mandatory purchase option at the end of the loan term.

Sources familiar with Emery's thinking say he is undeterred by these players' issues at their previous clubs or past troubles. Instead, he views them as market opportunities Villa couldn't pursue on financial grounds, and he believes he can unlock their best. This managerial backing is crucial in ensuring players get more opportunities through loan deals than they would staying put.

Loan deals are not all the same: beyond "pure loans" where a player returns to the parent club after a fixed period, some agreements include purchase options or obligations, sometimes with triggering conditions. Sometimes a player's goal is to prove their value to the parent club, while the parent club's goal is to attract outside interest to command a higher sale price later. Onuoha stressed that clear expectations about what happens after the loan ends are "very important."

Onuoha said: "I thought I would go out on loan and then come back and still be part of Manchester City's future plans, but it turned out completely the opposite."

"My time on loan at Sunderland was excellent. We finished in the top ten, which was Sunderland's goal at the start of the season, and I really enjoyed it there." However, Onuoha wanted to return to Manchester City and compete for a place at the club he had supported since childhood, and he communicated this to then-manager Roberto Mancini.

Onuoha said: "But then during the off-season, a few weeks before the new season started, I was told I needed to find a new club permanently. Suddenly, that loan spell and how it ended meant I had to prepare for the new season completely differently, because it wasn't until long after the loan ended that I learned I was no longer in the team's plans."

In the 2011-12 season, Onuoha made just one substitute appearance in the league for Manchester City before joining Queens Park Rangers in January, where he played for six years.

Onuoha said: "If you want to rediscover form somewhere, a loan deal can be good. But as the loan nears its end, the question becomes: 'What's next?'"

"If your future remains uncertain during the loan season, you're in a more vulnerable position. You're not just vulnerable at one club, but at two."

"Relatively speaking, a player's career is very short, so you need to try to find somewhere you can play."

"But why would a club choose you? If they're loaning you instead of buying you outright, what's the reason? Can't they afford a permanent purchase? Or is it like previous loan deals, where a player automatically triggers a purchase clause at 26 appearances, and then when you hit 24, 25 appearances, everything suddenly slows down? Who is this loan deal really for? For you, or for them?"

"As a player, things get complicated when you realize the loan deal serves their interests. But when you know the loan deal is structured for you, that's the best situation for you to rediscover your form."

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