October 12th Loan Roundup: Suso Going Strong, Robinson Key for Tangerines

Suso

Let's kick off the roundup with Liverpool's best loanee. Suso made a positive impression in his time with the first team last year and exploded out of the gates with his loan club Almería to start the campaign. Since then, the attacking midfielder has only gone from strength to strength despite the promoted club's struggles.

The Spaniard has started every La Liga game thus far, playing on both the right and left flanks. One goal and three assists are nice figures, that he is also averaging one key pass and three successful dribbles per game even more impressive. Almeria may not survive the drop, but Suso could be a force to be reckoned with upon his return to Liverpool next season.

Pepe Reina

Pepe Reina's departure over the summer still smarts for some Liverpool fans, but Simon Mignolet's thus far excellent form has mainly silenced the critics. Now, it seems supporters just wish the chance to say a proper goodbye to the much loved keeper as the Spaniard's loan move to Napoli seems to be working out for all parties involved.

For Reina and Napoli, the keeper has been in solid form and avoided the head-scratching errors that saw his Liverpool career begin to stall out. A late penalty save against spot kick master Mario Balotelli saved Napoli a win, and Rafa Benitez's crew sits second in the Italian table. Reina has also enjoyed his return to European football, with the Partenopei gamely competing in a very difficult Champions League group including Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund, and Marseille.

On Liverpool's end, Mignolet has thus far been better than what Reina gave the club in recent seasons. Pepe's now open interest in taking over from Victor Valdes in Barcelona's goal next season further validates Rodgers's change in netminder over the summer. Good form for Napoli and a still long-ish term contract will give Reina some sell-on value in the transfer market next summer - to Barcelona or elsewhere.

Fabio Borini

Regrettably, things seem to have gone very sour with last year's summer signing, Fabio Borini. Many Liverpool fans were bullish at signing the then-Roma forward, being just 21 years old and a member of Italy's Euro 2012 squad.

Unfortunately for the Italian, he missed a major chance to make a mark with the Reds' depleted front line last year and he never got going in an injury-riddled campaign. His loan move to Sunderland was certainly a cause for concern, despite Brendan Rodgers insistence that it was best for the forward's development.

Since then, the player's agent has claimed his move to Liverpool was a mistake, Paulo Di Canio has been sacked as Sunderland manager, and Borini has managed just one start for the last-place Black Cats. His 59 minutes in a 3-0 defeat to West Brom being the last anyone has seen of the forward.

Borini was a likable figure, running himself into the ground and displaying intelligent movement off the ball. Of course, that he also seemed to have a case of the yips whenever he was on the ball was not a good sign. His current loan move is proving disastrous, as is his transfer to Liverpool in the first place. Hopefully he resurrects his loan move and career in turn over the course of the season.

Conor Coady

A familiar name to many Liverpool fans, Coady is having a mixed go of it for Sheffield United in League One. The 20 year old began the season as a main figure for the club, but Sheffield's struggles have seen Coady drop out of the first team picture.

He recorded 90 minutes against Rotherham, but since that 3-1 defeat he was an unused substitute in two fixtures and didn't make the 18 against Wolves. He got 53 minutes off the bench in Sheffield's last league match, a 1-1 draw with Crawley.

This season is pretty crucial in Coady's development and hopefully he'll get back to receiving more consistent playing time. Certainly, it's much too soon to write off the long-time England youth international, but if he's going to make the grade for a club the size of Liverpool, his development is going to need to go up a few levels, and quickly.

Oussama Assaidi

Moroccan winger Oussama Assaidi may find himself regretting his move to England. An important figure at SC Heerenveen in the Dutch top flight, Assaidi spent last year being overlooked for essentially any Liverpool academy player with two legs and no horns. On loan at Mark Hughes's Stoke City, Assaidi has once gain struggled for playing time.

Things may be looking up for the winger however, as he recorded 28 minutes off the bench in Stoke's last match against Fulham. Peanuts maybe, but at least he's seen his first Premier League action for the Potters. His only two other appearances in Stoke's striped kit have been off the bench in the League Cup.

His Liverpool career is certainly over, whether he makes a permanent exit next summer or another loan move is unclear.

Jack Robinson

Left back Jack Robinson has been enjoying his loan spell with the Ince family's Blackpool. The 20 year old Englishman has started 10 of Blackpool's first 11 Championship fixtures, having been suspended for yellow card accumulation for the Tangerines' 3-1 loss to Millwall. It remains the only league loss on Blackpool's fixture list, and, sitting in sixth place, the club is currently lurking amongst the early promotion candidates.

Obviously, it is very encouraging to see Robinson receiving such consistent playing time and the move down a level has already paid dividends. With Aly Cissokho only on a loan and Jose Enrique being Jose Enrique, Robinson stands a good chance of competing for first team minutes next season.

Kristjan Adorjan

The 20 year old Hungarian attacker has had an interesting go of it in the Netherlands. Adorjan received his first start of the season on August 25^th against Go Ahead Eagles, and he duly recorded footy's equivalent of a Gordie Howe hat trick. A goal, an assist, and a straight red card saw Adorjan suspended for Groningen's next two fixtures.

Impressively, the youngster immediately went straight back into the side, scoring on his return against RKC Waalwijk. He had the unfortunate pleasure of a front row seat to Groningen's 5-0 thrashing at the hands of FC Twente, but was restored to the starting lineup and played 70 minutes in a 2-1 over AZ Alkmaar.

Overall, Adorjan's loan spell is proving to be successful for all parties, though whether he has a future at Liverpool is still up in the air.

Henoc Mukendi

Hasn't been on an active roster for Partick Thistle since the last loan roundup. That's August 22^nd for those scoring at home and means Mukendi has gotten a grand total of 20 minutes of playing time from his loan switch. Mukendi may not have ever been labeled a blue-chip prospect, but surely he'll try to jump start his development at a different club when his loan agreement expires in February.