NYCFC on loan: Checking in on Talles Magno, Jovan Mijatović, and James Sands | OneFootball

New York City FC tends to have players out on loan. Sometimes, players are loaned out to help them develop. Other times, they go out on loan for playing time or because they are not happy with the team. Then, in some cases, players are loaned out because they cannot be sold yet.

Plus, there are times when a player is loaned out to see how they will do, as is the case of James Sands. His last European loan stint did not go as planned, so he received the chance to try again with FC St. Pauli.

Currently, three players are out on loan for the Pigeons. The NYCFC roster page would say that four are out on loan, but Alexandru Mitriță officially left the club in the summer of 2023. For some reason, the club has not removed his image in the roster section, but he is not listed on any Major League Soccer roster lists.

Checking in on the NYCFC players out on loan

Still, how are the NYCFC players doing out on loan? It is easy to start with Sands, for the midfielder sadly suffered an injury to his ankle and lower leg. As such, he has not played since February 15, when he was injured.

Before then, Sands was finding success with St. Pauli. He appeared in seven Bundesliga matches, starting five of them. It is a shame he will miss the rest of the season, but hopefully, the German side will extend his loan for the following season so he can continue to impress.

Jovan Mijatović is also out on loan, which was not a surprise since the Serbian player struggled immensely with NYCFC in 2024. So, he returned to Europe by going to the Belgian club Oud-Heverlee Leuven.

He finished the regular season with the side, playing five games while starting just once. In addition, he has only scored once since moving to the club.

Now, Mijatović and OH Leuven will compete in the playoff section of the season, competing in the Conference League Playoff Group. Whether he will get more playing time is yet to be seen.

Finally, Talles Mago, who has been out on loan since last summer, has been having some success with Sport Club Corinthians Paulista in Brazil. The winger, who needed a change in scenery after Nick Cushing hurt his development, will be with the team until the end of June. This is similar to his other two teammates, but some would expect Magno to have that loan deal extended or for him to move permanently, whether to the same team or elsewhere.

However, while he is playing regularly, he is not an everyday starter with Corinthians. Since joining the team last summer, Magno has played in 35 games in all competitions. Of those 35, he has only started 16 matches. Additionally, he has eight goals and four assists, with five of the goals coming in the Campeonato Paulista from January 16 through February 15 of this year.

Although, Brazilian teams play a higher amount of matches compared to Major League Soccer. Therefore, the rosters tend to be larger and there is more rotation. So, while Magno's numbers are not the best, they are not the worst either.

Sands might not play for some time, but it will be interesting to see how Magno and Mijatović do with the rest of their loan deals.