It’s that time of the week once again, time to check in with West Ham United’s various different loan stars and see how they’ve been getting on at their various different loan clubs both in Britain and on the continent in the past week as Robert Snodgrass’ Aston Villa’s promotion hopes took a blow, so too those of Antonio Martinez and Real Valladolid.
Robert Snodgrass (Aston Villa)
Fresh from a frustrating Easter weekend, the Scottish winger and Steve Bruce’s side have endured a busy seven days in their bid to gain promotion back up to the promised land of the Premier league from the Sky Bet Championship, hosting Reading and travelling to Norwich City.
Snodgrass started in both and helped his team to a 3-0 victory at Villa Park but was left disappointed by a 3-1 loss at Carrow Road on Saturday lunchtime, the second result has all but diminished the Midlands club’s hopes of gaining automatic promotion, although keeping them inside the play-off places ahead of tonight’s key clash with second place Cardiff City.
Martin Samuelsen (Burton Albion)
At the opposite end of the Championship table, the young Norwegian winger and Nigel Clough’s Brewers side haven’t been as busy as their Midlands rivals over the last seven days, only travelling to face neighbours Birmingham City.
Samuelsen started on the substitutes’ bench and did not get on at St Andrew’s as he continues his recovery from injury, Albion conceded a second consecutive late equaliser to draw 1-1 and fall to 24th, rock bottom in the standings, Samuelsen will be hoping to get back on the pitch in this evening’s visit of Hull City to the Pirelli Stadium.
Reece Burke (Bolton Wanderers)
Ad last but not least in the second tier of English football, another team towards the bottom are Phil Parkinson’s Bolton, where Academy of Football product Burke is spending the remainder of the season, they faced two derbies against Birmingham and Derby County.
Burke started in both, a pair of defeats, 0-1 at the Macon Stadium and 3-0 at Pride Park, playing the full match in the first and being substituted at half-time in the second, the run saw the club fall worryingly to 21st position, just two points above the bottom three and with a crucial home match against high-flying Millwall ahead tonight.
Reece Oxford (Borussia Monchengladbach)
Over in the faraway land of the German Top-Flight, young defender Oxford has been enjoying his time under Dieter Hecking with Gladbach as they look to consolidate a mid-table position in the Bundesliga.
However, the injured starlet remained sidelined for the visit of Hertha Berlin to Borussia-Park on Saturday as Die Fohlen claimed all three points to the tune of 2-1, the scale and length of the knock is not yet known but he will undoubtedly be fighting to get fit as soon as possible, the triumph took Borussia up to eighth in the standings, they travel to league leaders Bayern Munich next weekend.
Moses Makasi (Plymouth Argyle)
Another team looking for promotion out of their league, Sky Bet League One, are Derek Adams’ Plymouth who are play-off hopefuls in the English third tier, Hammers youngster Makasi has become a regular for them over the last few weeks.
On Saturday, Peterborough United were the visitors to Home Park with Makasi making the starting Xl in midfield as Argyle grabbed a dramatic late win against the nine men of the Posh to go fifth in the table, back into the play-off spots, the Devon side will next be in action against Portsmouth at home on Saturday afternoon.
Antonio Martinez (Real Valladolid)
Over in the Sunny climes of Spain, prolific young Spanish forward Toni Martinez continues to gain vital loan experience in the Segunda (Second) Division of his home land at Valladolid under Luis Cesar Sampedro.
On Saturday, they visited the Nou Estadi de Tarragona to face off with Gimnastic de Tarragona and came away frustrated, losing out 1-0 to an 89th minute strike, the former Spain youth International was picked for the bench, but then came on in the closing stages, it drops the club down to 11th and virtually out of the play-off reckoning for now, league leaders Sporting Gijon are next up on Sunday afternoon.
So, now that you’ve been given the full lowdown on how the Claret & Blue loan stars have been doing at their temporary clubs recently, how will they fare in the next seven days as the run-in of the domestic season in Europe continues? Join us once again early next week to find out.