Loan deals are very interesting. They’re usually agreements that leave all parties happy for a short time.
Because they aren’t permanent, fans don’t usually expect so much from loan signings, but there are some that have gone on to actually blow everyone’s mind. These are the 8 greatest loan signings in football history.
1. Jesse Lingard to West Ham
Man, you just had to be there. Lingard was rotting away on Man United’s bench for years, then in January 2021, he decided to move to West Ham on loan to reunite with former Man United boss David Moyes, and boy was it a movie! He scored a brace on his debut against Aston Villa and that set the pace for what was going to be a hugely successful spell at the London club. He went on to have 13 goal contributions in 16 appearances during his 5-month loan spell. What this meant was that he scored more goals for West Ham than he ever scored in a single season for Man United. Lingard was so good for West Ham that he won the Premier League Player of the Month and Goal of the Month awards in April 2021. Apart from the performances on the pitch, Lingard was also such a vibe off of it. He brought the dressing room together in an unbelievable way, and that was evident in the goal celebrations. The fans wanted him to sign with them permanently, and really, that’s what Lingard should have done, but he decided to go back to United and then to Nottingham Forest, and considering he is now in South Korea, that was obviously not a good idea. But regardless of whatever happened, we will never forget those 5 months Lingard spent at West Ham.
2. Romelu Lukaku to West Brom
We will also never forget Romelu Lukaku’s West Brom spell. He was struggling for game time after moving to Chelsea in 2011, so he was loaned to West Brom in 2012. He scored in his full debut for the club, and just never seemed to stop scoring after then. He ended that season outscoring every Chelsea player and it felt like a huge middle finger to the club for not trusting him. He had 21 goal contributions in 35 Premier League appearances for West Brom, and finished as the 6th highest goal-scorer in the league. It was one hell of a season, but that’s not even the greatest loan spell the Belgian has had. Can you guess which of his loan spells was greater than the West Brom one? Take a shot at it in the comments, we’ll see if you’re correct later.
3. Kevin De Bruyne to Werder Bremen
But for now, let’s talk about another Belgian – Kevin De Bruyne. Like Lukaku, De Bruyne struggled for game time at Chelsea and had to be loaned out to Werder Bremen in 2012. That season, he showed the world what he was made of, directly contributing to 19 goals in 33 Bundesliga appearances. After that really good season in Germany, Dortmund and Leverkusen wanted to sign him, but Mourinho insisted on keeping him at Chelsea, only to end up not giving him enough game time. So, the next year, De Bruyne headed back to the Bundesliga, absolutely tore it apart, and that forced Man City to come knocking. And well, the rest, as they say, is history. You know, one could argue that De Bruyne going on to establish himself as one of the best midfielders in the history of the Premier League at Man City is a butterfly effect of his loan move to Werder Bremen in 2012. Putting it like that makes this loan spell even more incredible.
4. Toni Kroos to Bayer Leverkusen
Another incredible loan spell at a German club was Toni Kroos to Bayer Leverkusen. He had just recently been promoted from the Bayern Munich youth system, so the club decided to send him out on loan to gain first-team experience. He had just turned 19 when he moved to Bayer Leverkusen, but Kroos showed incredible maturity in his game. In the 2009-2010 season, he had 21 goal contributions in 33 Bundesliga appearances, and despite being so young, he was one of the club’s most important players. He won two Bundesliga Player of the Month awards and finished in the Bundesliga Team of the Season during his loan spell at Leverkusen. Bayern saw that and immediately brought him back, integrated him into the first team, and never looked back. He would help the club win the Champions League in 2013 before then moving to Real Madrid where he won many more.
5. Chicharito to Real Madrid
Speaking of Real Madrid, there’s one striker who had one hell of a loan spell at the club. Can you guess who it is? Go ahead and attempt in the comments. Here’s a clue; he scored a huge knockout goal for Madrid in the Champions League. Anyway, while you guess who that is, let’s talk about Romelu Lukaku’s other loan spell. Did you guess Everton? If you did, then you’re absolutely correct! After he came off the bench to miss the deciding penalty for Chelsea in the 2013 UEFA Super Cup game against Bayern Munich, he was loaned out to Everton. And that turned out to be a blessing in disguise because he was incredible for the Toffees. He had 22 goal contributions in 31 Premier League appearances for Everton, including a winning goal on his debut, a brace on his home debut, a goal and an assist against Arsenal, and a memorable brace in his first ever Merseyside derby. He did all this despite being out for some time because of an injury. After a loan spell that good, Everton didn’t think twice about signing him. They paid Chelsea 28 million pounds for him, which was a club record fee at the time. And he would actually prove to be worth the fee, rising to be one of the best strikers in the league while at Everton. His performances at Everton earned him a big money move to Man United in 2017, but that didn’t go well.
6. Carlos Tevez to Manchester United
Well, you know what went well for Man United? Carlos Tevez’s loan spell. You see, Tevez’s spell at United was so good that people often forget he was actually on loan for those two years. He moved to Man United on a two-year loan from West Ham in 2007, and if Lingard’s loan was a movie, this one was a 22-episode blockbuster series! Tevez had 48 goal contributions in 99 appearances for Man United over the two years, and he helped them win two Premier League titles, one league cup, one FIFA Club World Cup, and one Champions League. In fact, he helped the club reach back-to-back Champions League finals in his two years at the club. All things considered, is Carlos Tevez to Man United the greatest ever loan signing in football history? What do you think?
7. Chicharito to Real Madrid
Anyway, that Real Madrid striker we were talking about is Chicharito! After struggling for game time at Man United, the Mexican center-forward moved to Real Madrid on loan in 2014. He would go on to have 14 goal contributions in 22 La Liga appearances that season. And most of those appearances were from off the bench. In fact, he only started 7 league games that season. 14 goal contributions in 7 starts is actually crazy impressive. Then in the Champions League, he scored the only goal of the quarter-final tie against Atlético which sent Madrid to the semis. Chicharito left Spain with a La Liga Goal of the Month award and a FIFA Club World Cup medal. It was a damn good spell.
8. Joselu to Real Madrid
And we know many of you guessed it, so yeah, let’s talk about it. Joselu! He joined Real Madrid on loan in 2023 following Espanyol’s relegation, and it was a dream! He would end up with 20 goal contributions in all competitions, but his story was much bigger than that. Joselu lived his dream in that one year. He was a life-long Real Madrid fan who had previously had an unsuccessful spell at the club, but he came back on loan, and single-handedly dragged them into the Champions League final, thanks to his two late goals against Bayern Munich. Joselu helped Madrid win the Champions League, La Liga, and Spanish Super Cup. And that loan spell earned him a call-up to represent Spain with whom he won the Euros. What a damn season the man had!
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