Although not as much as Sterling, Suso made an immediate impact to Liverpool fans at the start of the 2012/13 season and continued to impress as the season wore on. So personally I didn’t want to loan out Suso next season and instead I wanted to give him some more first team football at the highest level. However on the recent poll, 72.4% of you disagreed with my opinion and felt that it would be best if he were to get some experience elsewhere next season. So should Suso go on loan?
A product of the Liverpool academy, Suso hadn’t made any senior appearances until the autumn of 2012. After winning the U19 European Championships in Estonia, in which he was selected in the starting XI for every match, Suso made his Liverpool debut in the Europa league group stage against Young Boys of Bern when Liverpool won 5-3. Just 3 days later, Suso came on at half time for his Premier league and Anfield debut against Manchester United where he gave a solid performance and had a 100% pass success rate even after Jonjo Shelvey had been sent off. He then went on to rack up a total of 20 appearances for Liverpool last season (8 as a substitute), whilst signing a long term contract with Liverpool in October. During these appearances Suso managed 2 assists and played in some big games such as against Everton and Chelsea, showing tenacity and flair to fit in with Rodgers’ pass and move philosophy. However since the turn of the year he has only made 1 start due to being pushed out of the team by the signings of Sturridge and Coutinho. More recently Suso is participating in the U20 World Cup in Turkey where he has captained Spain to two victories so far against the USA and Ghana, in both matches showing his strength and a range of passing.
This bright and promising start to his Liverpool career was the reason why I was slightly surprised at the lack of fans wanting him to stay at the club next season instead of going on loan. But eventually I have convinced myself that going out on loan is the best thing for the young lad and that the 70-30 split is reasonable.
The main argument for this is that Suso will probably not get enough first team football to allow him to develop and grow as a player. A prime example of this is the second half of last season. During this time Suso only made 4 appearances and 3 of these came as a substitute. The only reason for this was the competition for places, as players such as Borini and Allen came back from injury and of course Coutinho and Sturridge were playing out of this world. Furthermore, since we have already signed Luis Alberto and Mkhitaryan looks well on his way, it’s starting to look like there won’t even be a place for Downing, Allen or Borini, even in a 5-man midfield, next season. How do we expect to see Suso play if £45 million is being left on the bench or worse? If he didn’t go on loan I can see him playing a few times in the League cup and FA cup and only making about 4 or 5 appearances in the League. This is surely a massive waste of quality and potential. But if Suso did go on loan I think he would gain some extremely valuable first team experience which is vital to success in the Premier League.
So now it seems like an easy decision for Brendan Rodgers, but where could Suso be loaned out to that fits the style of Liverpool’s play? Firstly I believe it’s vital that Suso stays in the English leagues because some foreign leagues have a much different style of play to the Premier League. Next I think it’s important that Suso gets a lot of game time whilst playing at the highest level possible, therefore I think he should be loaned out to no lower than the Championship. So for me the most suitable clubs to loan him out to should be in the top half of the Championship, possibly even to one of the newly promoted Premier League clubs. My suggestions would be: Watford, Brighton or Charlton. But wherever Suso is in September, be it at Anfield or otherwise, I believe he will shine and perform well with the team he is with and so I wish him a successful next season.
This bright and promising start to his Liverpool career was the reason why I was slightly surprised at the lack of fans wanting him to stay at the club next season instead of going on loan. But eventually I have convinced myself that going out on loan is the best thing for the young lad and that the 70-30 split is reasonable.
The main argument for this is that Suso will probably not get enough first team football to allow him to develop and grow as a player. A prime example of this is the second half of last season. During this time Suso only made 4 appearances and 3 of these came as a substitute. The only reason for this was the competition for places, as players such as Borini and Allen came back from injury and of course Coutinho and Sturridge were playing out of this world. Furthermore, since we have already signed Luis Alberto and Mkhitaryan looks well on his way, it’s starting to look like there won’t even be a place for Downing, Allen or Borini, even in a 5-man midfield, next season. How do we expect to see Suso play if £45 million is being left on the bench or worse? If he didn’t go on loan I can see him playing a few times in the League cup and FA cup and only making about 4 or 5 appearances in the League. This is surely a massive waste of quality and potential. But if Suso did go on loan I think he would gain some extremely valuable first team experience which is vital to success in the Premier League.
So now it seems like an easy decision for Brendan Rodgers, but where could Suso be loaned out to that fits the style of Liverpool’s play? Firstly I believe it’s vital that Suso stays in the English leagues because some foreign leagues have a much different style of play to the Premier League. Next I think it’s important that Suso gets a lot of game time whilst playing at the highest level possible, therefore I think he should be loaned out to no lower than the Championship. So for me the most suitable clubs to loan him out to should be in the top half of the Championship, possibly even to one of the newly promoted Premier League clubs. My suggestions would be: Watford, Brighton or Charlton. But wherever Suso is in September, be it at Anfield or otherwise, I believe he will shine and perform well with the team he is with and so I wish him a successful next season.