Newcastle United find themselves in unique loan situation

This loan situation is quite bizarre at Newcastle United.

I know everybody is so focused on potential big name/fee signings coming in.

However, even despite that, it is surprising how this unique loan state of affairs hasn’t really been commented on.

Can you ever remember a Newcastle United season kicking off, with not a single player out on loan?

Yet that is the case as things currently stand, not a single senior or younger age groups player out on loan.

Plus, the lower leagues in England kicked off a week earlier than the Premier League, whilst in Scotland they kicked off their league campaigns even earlier, at the start of August. Clubs in these leagues the most likely for Newcastle United players to go out on loan to, as well as mainland Europe.

Checking back, last summer the first confirmed outgoing loan deal was announced on 12 June 2023, that was Yankuba Minteh heading to Feyenoord for a season on loan, after Newcastle bought him from Odense.

We are now at 19 August 2024 and not a single loan deal announced.

It is almost five years ago when Newcastle United announced (see below) Shola Ameobi as the club’s ‘Loan Coordinator’, two days after Mike Ashley appointed Steve Bruce (after paying Sheffield Wednesday £3m compensation!).

That Shola Ameobi announcement contained the following explanation of his role:

“The loan coordinator is about planning, organising and coordinating players that we’ve identified as a club who need to either go out on loan to develop them or because they need games as part of a first-team squad.

“Overall, it is to help maximise their development, especially when you are talking about players who are coming through and trying to break into the first team. I think it’s important that they get first-team football and understand what it takes to play at that level and really utilising the loan system to develop our players who are hopefully ready for the first-team.”

Somebody recently wrote an article on The Mag, wondering exactly what Shola Ameobi’s job description was now, as he seemingly spends so much doing PR stuff for the club, meeting fans at events and so on.

I am not saying that the absence of a single loan deal is purely down to Shola Ameobi, however, on the face of it, it’s difficult to find any trace recently of any ‘Loan Coordinating’ going on!

Newcastle United official announcement – 21 June 2019:

Shola Ameobi named as Loan Coordinator

Shola Ameobi has spoken of his excitement for the task ahead after he was appointed as Newcastle United’s Loan Coordinator.

The newly-created role is a number of changes made at the club’s Academy with the former Newcastle striker, who has worked with the club’s youth teams, aiming to provide the strongest pathway possible for upcoming young talent at the club.

Ameobi joined the Newcastle’s Academy system at the age of 11 before going on to make over 300 appearances for the Magpies and is hoping to use his playing experiences to his advantage in the new position.

Ameobi told nufc.co.uk: “It’s going to be exciting. It’s a club that has been a part of my life for over 20-25 years and I was still coming in and working as a coach. Being a part of that over the last year or two has been great but now I’m coming in full-time and into a role where, predominantly, you are trying to help players.

“I have been a player myself and understand how hard it can be, especially when you are out on loan. I think it’s important that we have someone in charge of that who can help the player and the club in terms of strategy, why we use the loan system and how we can benefit the player through that system.

“It’s working with players that you can help to facilitate everything they need to succeed. I’m a big believer in helping each and every player regardless if they are playing or not. We shouldn’t treat them any less just because they are out on loan and hopefully I can be a big plus for them going ahead.”

Academy products Elias Sørensen, Jamie Sterry and Liam Gibson completed loan moves in January before all making early returns to Tyneside after a lack of game-time with their respective teams.

And Ameobi, who represented Nigeria in the 2014 World Cup, is hoping he can prove to be a useful asset in the youngsters’ journey towards senior football, with a selection of players knocking on the door for first-team action.

He added: “The loan coordinator is about planning, organising and coordinating players that we’ve identified as a club who need to either go out on loan to develop them or because they need games as part of a first-team squad.

“Overall, it is to help maximise their development, especially when you are talking about players who are coming through and trying to break into the first team. I think it’s important that they get first-team football and understand what it takes to play at that level and really utilising the loan system to develop our players who are hopefully ready for the first-team.

“If not, we can help them to have a career in the game because I think the success of a club, the development side of a club, is making sure we produce players who stay in the game and have a career in football.

“For me, there are certain responsibilities that I see which are key in this role. The first is to implement an efficient and effective strategy of who is ready to go out on loan, where they should be going and what level they should be playing at.

“I think it’s very important to have that process in place before we send kids out on loan. Different players need different things and it’s important that we fit them in the right place for what they need to develop.

“Another big part of the job will be to liaise with the player. It will be important that these guys who are going out on loan don’t feel like they have just been left out on the limb.

“It’s important that they realise that they are still part of our club and they get the same time of thought put into them and their careers regardless of where they’re at as they play here. I think that’s a big part of my job to make sure that they get the right information and are given the best environment to succeed.”

The Academy witnessed Sean Longstaff’s progression into Newcastle’s first-team last term, with the 21-year-old midfielder making 13 senior appearances for the Magpies along with scoring his first Premier League goal against Burnley in February.

The Under-23 squad also enjoyed one of their strongest seasons in recent years, reaching the Premier League Cup final and the Premier League 2 division two play-off final as well as retaining their HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens title in May.

Ameobi added: “What we’ve seen over the past year is that we’ve got talent here and have players who teams want. The strategy for us, as a club, is to understand who needs that move or needs to stay here. We have got promising players but sending them out on loan is not always the right answer.

“Sometimes, mixing with the first-team and having that experience for six months might be more crucial for them at this stage of their development. It’s understanding that and getting it right before we decide who needs to go out on loan or not.

“My job is to make sure these players trust that we are doing the right thing by them and that they understand we are trying to help them. It’s understanding how a player feels when they go out on loan or when they feel like they are being neglected.

“I’ve been through that and I understand it can be hard, especially for younger players who may be on their first loan move or they are still developing in terms of their mental capacity. The psychological part of the game is important and it’s really about helping to assist them and monitoring where they are at as a person.

“I think this role will look at how they do on the pitch but also where their mindset is off the pitch, being able to talk to them and assist them in that side of the game. I think that’s key because I understand what it takes to go out and how to succeed and maybe not to succeed and how you deal with that side of it.

“For them to have someone to talk to and guide them through that is a really important part of my role and I can hopefully bring that to the job too.”