It is now time to check in with our bright young Academy starlets on their loan moves, as Reece Burke and Josh Cullen slumped to defeat with The Trotters and Reece Oxford continues to wait for his Bundesliga bow.
Reece Burke And Josh Cullen (Bolton Wanderers)
Homegrown duo Reece Burke and Josh Cullen are continuing to gain vital first-team experience in The Sky Bet Championship for Phil Parkinson’s Bolton by assuming their respective starting places in defence and midfield during Friday night’s clash with Hull City.
The KCOM Stadium is a Ground that Cullen, in particular, has happy memories of from the 2015/2016 U21 Premier League Cup. The Irishman was part of our squad that won the Competition in a two-legged Final against The Tigers, triumphing with a successful Penalty Shootout in The North East.
However, this time around, there would be no joy for the pair as their Trotters side were at the mercy of a rampant home team.
Leonid Slutsky’s men took the lead early through Norwegian International Adama Diomande, as he converted a Kamil Grosicki cross on 13 minutes.
Just moments later, Jarrod Bowen would double that lead after he too profited from a Grosicki delivery, and the Czech would finally get in on the scoring act himself just before the half hour mark.
Cullen was substituted and replaced by former Reading forward Adam Le Fondre just after half-time, after not being 100% at the Races in the first period.
However, Burke remained on the field for the full 90 minutes and witnessed the hosts round off their victory with Bowen slotting home in the closing stages for a four-goal romp.
The loss roots The Wanderers to bottom place in The Championship, with Burke and Cullen in the same predicament as their parent club.
Next up for the pair will be the home visit of Middlesbrough who were relegated from The Premier League last season.
The tie will take place at The Macron Stadium after the International Break, and will see our youngsters face off with former teammates Ashley Fletcher and Darren Randolph.
Reece Oxford (Borussia Monchengladbach)
Academy graduate Reece Oxford continued to impress Borussia Monchengladbach manager Dieter Hecking last week in training, as he moves closer to securing his debut in The German Top-Flight.
Last weekend, Oxford was named as an unused substitute for his side’s Derby Day victory over FC Koln, despite impressing and scoring in pre-season against Malaga.
This week, Die Fohlen made the trip to Augsburg Arena to face Augsburg and after Borussia put themselves ahead thanks to goals from Denis Zakaria and Oscar Wendt.
The hosts nicked a late leveler through Sergio Cordova to break Gladbach hearts, Oxford was again an unused substitute for the entirety of the encounter.
Next up for The German Giants is a home tie with Eintracht Frankfurt in The Bundesliga after the dreaded International Break, a game in which our young centre-back could finally make his competitive debut for the club.