Five Premier League youngsters who have shone on loan in the EFL this season | OneFootball

We’ve used the Squawka Score to assess all of the Premier League loanees who have been plying their trade in the EFL while out on loan this season and taken a closer look at five players who have scored highest using our unique rating system.

The Squawka Score judges a player’s per 90 output for a group of selected stats, with various weightings based on their position and division. The result is a percentage rating from 0 to 100. Here are the best five Premier League loanees out in the EFL this season, according to the Squawka Score:

5. Cameron Humphreys (68%) – Wycombe Wanderers (on loan from Ipswich Town)

There’s every chance that Cameron Humphreys’ loan club Wycombe Wanderers will be in the same division as Ipswich Town next season. The Chairboys are fighting for promotion from League One while the Tractor Boys look set for relegation from the Premier League, but it would be unfair to not point out just how impressive Cameron Humphreys has looked during his spell at Adams Park.

Humphreys rarely gives away the ball, having lost fewer than one challenge per 90 minutes this season — but he’s also progressive in his passing, with forward passes making up 37.46% of his total completed this season in League One. He’s created 11 big chances, linking well with the prolific Richard Kone, but far from being just a creative force, the 21-year-old also has the tools to sit deeper and has been tasked with a more defensive role when head coach Mike Dodds has occasionally switched to a back three since taking over from Matt Bloomfield in February.

Much of Ipswich’s transfer business last summer consisted of recruiting stars of the 2023/24 Championship campaign including Sammie Szmodics, Jack Clarke and Liam Delap and with that in mind, they’ll feel well set for a promotion push next season. They would be well-served by adding a homegrown youngster to this mix of creative attacking talent as they look to compete at the top end of the Championship next season — providing they don’t perform a great escape.

4. George Abbott (68%) – Notts County (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur)

Tottenham Hotspur have had three loanees performing particularly well in the EFL this season according to the Squawka Score, but George Abbott at Notts County has scored 68% to put him ahead of the duo of players on loan at Leyton Orient: goalkeeper Josh Keeley and attacking midfielder Jamie Donley.

While Abbott may not have caught the headlines with the same FA Cup heroics performed by the two players on loan at Brisbane Road, he has gone about his business in an understated but highly efficient manner at Meadow Lane, scoring four goals and assisting four as the Magpies look to chase down AFC Wimbledon, Bradford City and Walsall for one of the automatic promotion spots in League Two.

If we’re honest, being a Premier League-level player would be a huge task on the back of a successful League Two loan spell for Abbott, but the central midfielder has completed 81.43% of his passes into the final third, while winning 47 tackles and making 54 interceptions this season. He’s showing that he has the requisite skills to compete at a higher level next term, perhaps with a loan to a League One or Championship outfit. At just 19 years of age, there’s still plenty of time for him to force his way into the first team picture at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium beyond that.

3. Kamari Doyle (70%) – Exeter City & Crawley Town (on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion)

Exeter City’s Gary Caldwell may not agree, but the Squawka Score places Kamari Doyle as one of the highest-performing midfielders in League One this season. The Brighton & Hove Albion youngster spent the first half of the season on loan at St James Park, but he was in and out of the XI, starting just 10 of his 20 appearances for the Grecians. This led to a mutual cancellation of the loan, with Doyle instead joining fellow League One outfit Crawley Town in the transfer window.

Doyle has been more involved with the Red Devils, scoring three and creating three goals in nine starts and three substitute appearances. He ranks well for completed take-ons, successful passes into the final third, big chances created and touches in the opposition box and is doing so despite playing for a team that are staring relegation to League Two in the face with 12 points separating them from 20th placed Bristol Rovers.

Although there are certainly deficiencies in the defensive side of Doyle’s game that can be improved upon, he can clearly provide a creative spark and he’s a threat from set-pieces to boot, as shown by his stunning free-kick in Exeter’s 0-2 away win over Bolton earlier in the campaign. Brighton’s recruitment has been lauded in recent years and it’s becoming clear why they decided to poach Doyle from Southampton for an undisclosed fee last summer.

2. Louie Barry (71%) – Stockport County & Hull City (on loan from Aston Villa)

Given how long he’s been making headlines for, it seems strange that Aston Villa youngster Louie Barry is still just 21 years old. After becoming the first English player to join Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy in 2019, he signed for Aston Villa in 2020 and scored a famous goal against Liverpool in the FA Cup Third Round in 2021 as the Villains were forced to field several inexperienced players after an outbreak of Covid-19 within the first-team squad.

Having spent time on loan with a handful of EFL clubs, Barry came into some excellent form last season, scoring nine times in 21 appearances to help Stockport County to promotion from League Two. After rejoining the Hatters for another season in the summer he continued on the same trajectory, scoring an incredible 15 times in 23 appearances and winning the League One Player of the Month for both August and November.

That form prompted a move to a Championship outfit in the shape of Hull City in January where unfortunately, his progress has been stalled by a knee injury sustained in just his fourth appearance for the Tigers. Over the course of the season, he has clocked up some impressive numbers, averaging 2.66 completed take-ons, 1.77 shots on target and 5.54 touches in the opposition box per game to add to the topline stats of 15 goals and two assists.

1. Alfie Gilchrist (72%) – Sheffield United (on loan from Chelsea)

One of the stand-out loanees in the entire EFL this season has been Alfie Gilchrist at Sheffield United. As one of the few players on this list to have already enjoyed some Premier League game time, making 11 appearances for Chelsea last season and even scoring his first goal for his boyhood club in a 6-0 win over Everton, he’s come into the Championship with a degree of pedigree and expectation. As such, it will come as little surprise to most Blues fans to see him topping this list having been a near ever-present for the Blades throughout the campaign so far.

Gilchrist is ever dependable as a defender, losing just 0.35 challenges per game this season and he also ranks highly for clearances completed (3.46) and interceptions (1.1) per 90 minutes. Perhaps the most impressive stat of all is his 21 blocked shots — a higher total than any other full-back in the Championship this season.

While he can certainly improve with the ball, Gilchrist has made strides forward in possession this season while showcasing his defensive strengths, although unfortunately having picked up an ankle injury he hasn’t featured since a shock home defeat to Hull City in January. When he does return to fitness, he’ll have to displace the in-form Femi Seriki. Either way, he’ll feel he’s done enough in his 28 appearances so far to force his way into Enzo Maresca’s first-team plans for next season, particularly after rumoured interest from Wolves during the January transfer window.