There has been praise and criticism for Tottenham players on loan at home and in Europe this week.
Spurs have sent 17 players to clubs in the Premier League, Football League as well as Germany, Italy, Portugal and Belgium but have now sent one as 21-year-old goalkeeper Luca Gunter returned from a spell at National League South side Boreham Wood last week.
Some of the loan army currently out of the north London club have an obligation to sign them if they meet certain requirements in their contracts with their new clubs, while others have options to make their transfers permanent, so they need to impress, while the rest want to catch the eye of Roberto De Zerbi.
Every week football.london Will be keeping a close eye on all of the club’s players on loan during this long and busy season, including those who are bound to leave as they are still on Spurs’ books until their contracts officially expire in N17.
Here’s what all 16 of Tottenham’s loan players have earned so far this week, and one has now returned to the club:
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Mikey Moore (Cologne)
Mikey Moore is looking for his magic moment to kick off his time in Cologne with the Bundesliga outfit having just one win in the league so far.
The 19-year-old played 68 minutes on the left wing in a goalless draw at home to Schalke on Saturday.
German media outlet Bild have been told by Sport Witness that Moore had a ‘one-on-one’ chat with his coach René Wagner this week as he awaits the big moment to mark his time in Germany.
Sporting director Thomas Kessler said: “For Mikey, the focus now must be on his continued development here so that he can play an important role at Tottenham next year.”
Moore had a one-on-one with coach Rene Wagner this week to help him find the back of the net for the first time or record his first assist, which some websites reported was one he got for an own goal.
The Cologne boss said last week: “We have players who haven’t decided on games yet, but they can and they will in the future. We will equip them with the confidence they need. But they still have to find their feet because they come from other countries and other leagues.”
“Mikey is looking forward to the moment when it all breaks loose. He already proved himself in Glasgow, but even there, it took time. If he manages it here, he will also know that he can beat any opponent in one-on-one situations. Then it will be a little easier, but you can’t force him.”
Yang Min-hyeok (Westerlo)
Yang Min-hyeok recorded his first assist for Westerlo on Saturday and thought he had made the difference in the final seven minutes of normal time after coming on and diving onto an opponent’s shoulder.
Shunsuke Saito headed home what looked to be the winner in the 94th minute, only for Beveren’s Victor Olatunji to go unmarked in the six-yard box at the other end to make it 4-4 in the 102nd minute.
The assist for Yang follows a stunning first goal for the club this month, but the 20-year-old has had to settle for minutes here and there as South Korea won the Asian Games.
Westerlo manager Isame Charaï explained this week that he still needs to see more from the Spurs winger and criticized his work rate.
“I haven’t seen enough intensity from Yang here so far. Not even in training. He still needs to improve in this area,” the Belgian said.
Souza (Porto)
After Souza finally made his official debut for Porto and his first Champions League appearance last week, he was left out of the squad for Saturday’s Liga Portugal match at Gil Vicente.
Porto won 1-0 to keep their place, eight points adrift of Benfica, who have a game in hand at the top of the league, but there was no room for Spurs. Reports from Portugal claim there is no injury to the 20-year-old, just that there is too much competition for him to make the match-day squad.
The Brazilian is on a free loan at Porto for the season, with no option to buy, taking on his new club’s wages, and Souza said he is enjoying the move, but if it continues, the lack of minutes will become a problem for the left-back.
Pape Matar Sarr and Guglielmo Vicario (Juventus)
Guglielmo Vicario started and Pape Matar Sarr came off the bench as Juventus won 2-0 at Lecce on Sunday afternoon.
Vicario, who turns 30 this month, has now made eight consecutive starts in Serie A this season, keeping clean sheets in half of those games, and he made a number of crucial saves at Lecce.
The weekend win followed a 3-0 home defeat to Lazio in the Europa League and a 2-2 draw with Rennes in Tournai in midweek. The previously in-form Sarr was not used against Rennes and had to settle for a substitute role.
Goal.com reviewed Vicario as eight in their player ratings: “A confident presence between the sticks. Vicario made 4 crucial saves to protect his point, notably denying Youssef Maleh and Willem Geubbels. His distribution was calm, helping Juventus play from the back under constant pressure from Lecce.”
Sarr joined the Old Lady on a £2.4m loan deal with certain conditions to push his commitment to buy him for £23.5m next season, while Vicario agreed free loan terms for the Serie A side, which included an option to buy the 29-year-old for just £8.5m at £17m.
Radu Dragusin (Fiorentina)
Radu Dragusin and Genoa’s difficult start to the Serie A season showed no signs of abating as they lost 2-1 to Inter on Sunday.
Fiorentina remain in 18th place in the top table with only one win and 19 goals to their name, six defeats.
At the heart of this leaky defense is Dragusin, and the 24-year-old has played every minute of the league campaign so far for the Florence-based side.
The Romanian centre-back joined the Italian club this summer on a loan deal with a £21.4m buyout clause and will be subject to various terms as the campaign progresses.
Kevin Danso (Sunderland)
Kevin Danso missed Sunderland’s goalless draw at home to Leeds last week thanks to his red card in last week’s defeat at Bournemouth.
The 28-year-old, on loan for £2.5m with an obligation to buy him for £22.5m if the Black Cats stay in the Premier League, was at least able to start in Sunderland’s 1-1 Europa League draw at Lech Poznan in midweek.
He played the full 90 minutes, receiving a yellow card before the break.
Kota Takai (Sint-Truidense VV)
Kota Takai is back playing regular football and made three appearances on the trot and three 90-minute appearances as he took his place in the heart of defense for STVV’s 3-2 defeat at Club Brugge on Sunday.
The 22-year-old Japanese footballer is settling into a club in Belgium with a history of working with Japanese owners and players from the country.
The defender is looking to get his career back on track after an injury-plagued first year at Spurs and an unsuccessful loan spell at Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Mason Melia (Lincoln City)
Mason Melia is out until the end of this month with a thigh injury which has temporarily halted his minutes for both Lincoln and the Republic of Ireland.
The 19-year-old forward, who made his senior debut in the Republic of Ireland this summer, has come off the bench and started one in three of Lincoln’s previous six matches.
George Abbott (Mansfield Town)
It was a good weekend for George Abbott as he bagged an assist for Mansfield Town and finally started and came on in the second half after careful offload management following a long-term injury lay-off.
The 21-year-old midfielder played an hour for Nigel Clough’s men on Saturday after two 45-minute spells to help Mansfield beat Blackpool 4-1 away.
Abbott intercepted a Blackpool pass in the opposition half 10 minutes into the second half and slipped a perfect ball to Rhys Oates who fired a powerful shot past the keeper. The win means Abbott’s side are on a six-game unbeaten run in League One.
Jamie Donley (Luton Town)
Jamie Donley scored another 90 minutes for Luton Town as they recorded their second 2-1 home win in four days against Leicester City at Kenilworth Road in League One on Saturday.
The 21-year-old has made nine appearances for the loan side and recorded two goals and three assists on a direct loan with the Hats having no option to buy him.
Oliver Irow (Plymouth Argyle)
For the first time this season, Oliver Irow was an unused substitute for Plymouth Argyle as they won 3-2 at Cambridge United in League One.
The 20-year-old winger has enjoyed his loan spell for Argyle, scoring four goals in his first 12 appearances.
Yusuf Akhamrich (Leyton Orient)
Jusuf Akhamric suffered the same fate as his Spurs team-mate, with the winger sitting unused on Leyton Orient’s bench as they lost 2-1 at Burton Albion at the weekend.
20-year-old Akhamrich scored 3 goals and made 3 assists in 11 league games this season.
Damola Ajayi (Barnet)
Damola Ajayi started for League Two side Barnet on Saturday but was taken off at half-time in the lead against hosts Oldham.
The tactical switch didn’t help as they failed to score another goal and conceded an equalizer deep into injury time late in the game.
Ajayi has made nine appearances and provided one assist for Barnet so far this season.
Reiss Russell-Denny (Bristol Rovers)
Reiss Russell-Denny came off the bench for 20 minutes as Bristol Rovers were held to a goalless draw at home to Swindon Town in League Two.
The 20-year-old midfielder made 13 appearances and provided 3 assists in his first loan spell at Rovers.
Dylan Thompson (Anfield Town)
Dylan Thompson scored for Isthmian League Premier Division side Enfield Town as they beat Hanwoth Villa 5-1 in the FA Trophy on Saturday.
The 18-year-old goalkeeper missed the previous game as he was with De Zerbi’s Tottenham team in a warm-weather training camp in Marbella.