As all attention has been on the first team players and how they are doing in the Premier League, let’s take a moment to see how our on-loan youngsters are getting on at their clubs.
Conor McAleny
The 22 year old striker has been tipped to be a success at Everton since breaking onto the first team scene in the 2010/2011 season. Since then he has made brief cameo appearances, in particular against Arsenal. After that, games at the Toffees were hard to come by, so he was shipped out on loan to Scunthorpe United, and only made 3 appearances for the North Lincolnshire outfit. A season later the youngster joined Brentford on loan for what would had been the season. Unfortunately for McAleny, he suffered a leg break in his 4th appearance for the then league 1 team. That injury kept on the sidelines for a lengthy time; his return back to the first team after his injury was marked with a handful of games on the bench but never came to a substitute appearance.
His first start for the Blues came in the dead rubber Europa League clash with Krasnodar earlier on in the season. During the January transfer window he moved to Cardiff on loan which will keep him at the Cardiff City Stadium until 30th May.He has up to now played a total of 5 games, scoring in the recent game away victory at Rotherham United, and impressing the City fans with his recent performances. On Saturday, the Welsh outfit are in league action in a mid-table clash with Charlton Athletic, with McAleny once again expected to feature.
Matthew Pennington
The Warrington born defender has been highly rated by both the Academy coaches and the teams he has played for in his first few years of professional football, after graduating from the Blues academy a couple of seasons ago. His first big break came when he was loaned to then league 1 team Tranmere Rovers. During that season he impressed, notching 2 goals in 17 games with is primary position being right back. He is now playing for League One’s Coventry City where he has made 12 appearances for the Sky Blues.
Conor Grant
Grant has been an academy regular since the age of 13. Last season, the Liverpool born teenager missed a big chunk of action because of a back problem. After recovering, he was part of the Everton first team for this season’s pre-season program. His chance to show Roberto Martinez what he is made of came when he completed a loan move to SPL team Motherwell. Up to now he has made 3 appearances for ‘The Well,’ making an instant impact by scoring a superb free-kick on his debut. Motherwell, who are currently occupying bottom place in Scotland’s Premier division, have got a home game against Kilmarnock on Saturday as they seek points in a desperate attempt to escape the drop.
Chris Long
The Huyton born forward has recently flirted with the first team as he played a big part in Everton’s pre-season, where he scored a well-taken goal against German Bundesliga newcomers, Paderborn. As expected, his chances have been very limited but, like Conor McAleny, he was picked for the bench and came on in the 80th minute when The Toffees played their Europa League game against Krasnadar. Even though he hasn’t registered that many appearances for his boyhood club, he played 4 games for Milton Keynes Dons, scoring a single goal in the process. Currently on loan at Championship side, Brentford, Long has played 7 games and scored 3 times for the Bees, who are currently in the mix for a play-off place, earning an extension to his initial deal.
