ARTICLE: Ekdal goes out on loan

[ClaretTony]

Off to the Netherlands for the rest of the season

See link
https://www.uptheclarets.com/ekdal-goes-out-on-loan

[Woodleyclaret]

Good loan at a decent level .He can be a big player next season

[Goliath]

Very good player. Might still be important to us next season

[daveisaclaret]

Hope he does well and we can get a fee in summer. Think we will likely look back and realise a 9 game run starting around the time VK's team basically won the league wasn't enough to think this guy was going to make it in the PL.

[warksclaret]

Be interesting to see if he can stay injury free. A very talented defender, offering a reminder of this at Reading. This is a good move for both sides

[Hipper]

Not sure Dutch football is a 'decent level' these days. Wasn't there another Swedish footballer, a forward, that we had on loan and he did nothing. He signed for Feyenoord and suddenly turned into Haaland!

[ClaretTony]

Ekdal looks technically good but is frighteningly slow

[NottsClaret]

Ekdal looks technically good but is frighteningly slow

Always thought that, a very good intelligent player but that lack of pace isn't going to change.

[burnmark]

I don’t think we will see him in a Burnley shirt again. Good player and did a very good job for us in The Chanpionship.

All the best to him.

[Der_Groninger_Claret]

I may be the only person in the world who supports both Groningen and Burnley (Groningen is my local team). Very happy to see him join us as we can really use someone of his quality, plus he will likely play next Saturday against our local rivals Heerenveen. If Ekdal will stay fit he can help Groningen stay up, and Burnley may get a decent fee for him in the summer. Win-win.

[mybloodisclaret]

I may be the only person in the world who supports both Groningen and Burnley (Groningen is my local team). Very happy to see him join us as we can really use someone of his quality, plus he will likely play next Saturday against our local rivals Heerenveen. If Ekdal will stay fit he can help Groningen stay up, and Burnley may get a decent fee for him in the summer. Win-win.

Hi there Groninger, I don't think you'll be dissappointed!! I think he is a great player and has just landed unfortunate with his injury last year and that our other defenders have been in such great form.

I wish him and you well. Good luck for the rest of the season.

[Der_Groninger_Claret]

Not sure Dutch football is a 'decent level' these days. Wasn't there another Swedish footballer, a forward, that we had on loan and he did nothing. He signed for Feyenoord and suddenly turned into Haaland!

That was John Guidetti! He was flying at Feyenoord and even scored a hattrick against rivals Ajax. It turned out to be his only great season, although he did OKish at Celta in La Liga. Feyenoord, PSV and Ajax are the only decent teams here (Feyenoord even beat VK yesterday), with the gap between the top 3 and the rest widening due to Champions League money. Ekdal will easily be one of the best CBs in the league, and hopefully that will do him a lot of good.

[Papabendi]

Ekdal looks technically good but is frighteningly slow

which is why, if we have Prem aspirations, he is surplus to requirements.

[ClaretTony]

which is why, if we have Prem aspirations, he is surplus to requirements.

I think he's surplus to requirements even without promotion

[AlargeClaret]

Ekdal looks technically good but is frighteningly slow

Exactly my thoughts , he’s certainly very decent and a great attitude but looks almost flat footed at times . While it never held Ben Mee back , Ekdal does like to push up which accentuates the liability factor ( imo ) . Looks a decent loan for him though .

[Papabendi]

I think he's surplus to requirements even without promotion

If we don't go up and we have to shed a few defenders - would we get better in the market? Not sure.

[CoolClaret]

I don't think he's even played 20 games for Burnley, but I can say that I really enjoyed watching him when he donned the claret.

Wishing him all the very best.

[ClaretTony]

If we don't go up and we have to shed a few defenders - would we get better in the market? Not sure.

I suppose it would be dependent on who left should we not go up.

[jedi_master]

I really liked Ekdal in the Championship. Strong, confident and excellent with the ball at his feet (I cannot remember who it was against, but I remember a lovely goal where he threaded it through for Gudmundsson in the 22/23 promotion season). He did struggle in the Premier League, and certainly didn't have the pace for that level of football. Too good to be barely getting on our bench so a good move for him and hopefully we can get our money back or make a small profit even as long as he stays fit.

[Quickenthetempo]

which is why, if we have Prem aspirations, he is surplus to requirements.

You could say that about all our players bar 3 or 4.

Sadly yo-yoing between champ to prem and back means complete over hauls these days, both ways.

[claretcarrot93]

I think he's surplus to requirements even without promotion

He is better than Worral and Egan for me

[Papabendi]

I suppose it would be dependent on who left should we not go up.

we can assume Esteve and CJ. And Egan has a contract to the end of the season only.

That leaves Worrall, Delcroix and Beyer..thinking again we might want a a CB with a different profile at that point.

[Poulton-le-Claret]

As others say, too slow for the PL, but I think he is good enough to start for a Championship side (albeit not us with our current options). Unlucky with injuries, but hopefully that is behind him now and he can restart his career. All the best to him.

[SirBob]

Don’t think it’s worth dwelling on players like Ekdal, looked too slow for the Premier League which is where we need to be.

His injury record is poor.

He’s unlikely to improve to an extent where we’d make much more money.

I’d prefer to get him out on loan, prove himself fit and maybe get a few quid for him to reinvest in a youngster.

I imagine the same thing will happen with Bayer next season if he doesn’t overcome his injury problems.

[ClaretTony]

He is better than Worral and Egan for me

I'd put him some way behind those two

[Hipper]

I may be the only person in the world who supports both Groningen and Burnley (Groningen is my local team). Very happy to see him join us as we can really use someone of his quality, plus he will likely play next Saturday against our local rivals Heerenveen. If Ekdal will stay fit he can help Groningen stay up, and Burnley may get a decent fee for him in the summer. Win-win.

It would be nice to hear how he gets on if you have the time.

[Poulton-le-Claret]

It would be nice to hear how he gets on if you have the time.

Yeah I second that, please keep us updated D-G-C.

[ŽižkovClaret]

He is better than Worral and Egan for me

That might be the case, but i imagine Worral and Egan would be more inclined to be backups at this stage of their careers

[summitclaret]

I'd put him some way behind those two

I think that given his age Ekdal is possibly a better option going forward. He has one thing that we don't have in the team atm, he's a threat at our corners. He reads the game really well and is at least as quick as JW and JE. Unfortunately his fitness record is poor.

[Goliath]

I'd put him some way behind those two

What's that based upon. Worrall and Egan both have the exact same weakness that Ekdal has surely but without the same technical ability?

[morninbob]

I'd put him some way behind those two

I wouldn't, all are slow but ekdal is far superior on the ball.

[boatshed bill]

That might be the case, but i imagine Worral and Egan would be more inclined to be backups at this stage of their careers

That's OK until we need better than back-ups.
Ekdal isn't quick, but from what I saw he read the game fairly well.

[Der_Groninger_Claret]

Yeah I second that, please keep us updated D-G-C.

It would be nice to hear how he gets on if you have the time.

Sure, I'll keep you updated!

[randomclaret2]

That might be the case, but i imagine Worral and Egan would be more inclined to be backups at this stage of their careers

Worrall has just turned 28

[ŽižkovClaret]

Worrall has just turned 28

And yet he's dropped down into the championship......

[daveisaclaret]

And yet he's dropped down into the championship......

And Ekdal has had to drop down from the Championship.

[GDK]

It's difficult to compare Ekdal, Egan and Worrall as we haven't seen any of them fully fit and having a long run in the team. But is Ekdal really a lot slower than the others? He looked a class act to me in the Championship, and any lack of pace was more than covered by how well he reads the game.

Sad to see him go if this really does prove to be the end for him as a Claret, but he's far too good to be an unused squad player for us.

[claretspice]

And Ekdal has had to drop down from the Championship.

I'm not sure that's right. He's gone to the Dutch top division. I think it's generally regarded as a pretty good league and the top end is probably a higher standard than the Championship, not lower. He's gone to a team further down but i'm not sure it's a material step down in quality at all.

I like Ekdal and I always thought he seemed a good player. I've seen quicker, but I'm not sure he'd have stood out as slow in a system which didn't require defenders to hold such a high line or be isolated one v one, and when he first came into our side at Championship level he slotted in impressively. I'm not sure i've seen enough of him, Egan and Worrall side by side to compare them but I'm certainly not sure there's much evidence he's not broadly of a similar standard. Egan and Worrall have limitations which is why they've signed for us.

I hope he has a good loan spell in Holland and either earns a move that yields a good transfer fee, or gets the game time he needs to re-establish himself with us. It's possibly a shame he's not getting time in the hurly burly of English football but it's still a good move for him.

[Silkyskills1]

Good luck to him. Came in two years ago and made an instant impact. Looked classy and became an international. Excellent defender.

[Hipper]

It's a pity we haven't seen Ekdal much this season (I was hoping he'd get a full run out at Reading) but I can see the logic of keeping Worrall (he was surely initially considered a first team regular until Egan-Riley replaced him to such good effect) and Egan. They have both performed at least adequately and are ready replacements for our main men, Egan-Riley and Esteve - or with adding a third centre back.

We simply don't need another centre back and Ekdal is the obvious candidate to move out.

[Der_Groninger_Claret]

Ekdal was an unused substitute today. The Groningen coach however said that he has been very impressed with him, so I expect Ekdal to get some minutes the next match (v Sparta Rotterdam on 2 February). Personally, the most important thing today was that Groningen finally beat Heerenveen again after 10 matches (I'm glad our record v Blackburn has been much better:)

[Ric_C]

I'd put him some way behind those two

Not seen anything from Worrall or Egan that would get them ahead of a fully fit Ekdal.

His injuries have screwed his chances with us, but when fully fit, he is a top defender. Reads the game so well.

[superdimitri]

I'd say its more about keeping him fit than whether he is regarded good enough for the championship or premier league.
He hasn't had a run in the team to prove himself because he always gets injured.

[Exeterclaret]

What's that based upon. Worrall and Egan both have the exact same weakness that Ekdal has surely but without the same technical ability?

I think it's probably a bias towards players that have played a lot of English football

[boyyanno]

What's that based upon. Worrall and Egan both have the exact same weakness that Ekdal has surely but without the same technical ability?

Worral is a miles better 3rd choice than Ekdal. You only need to look at their careers, individual honours, previous clubs, games played, the fact we've let Ekdal go.

How do you or anyone else decide he is a better player when literally every bit of evidence, including the current managers decision, go against it?

[TheFamilyCat]

Worral is a miles better 3rd choice than Ekdal. You only need to look at their careers, individual honours, previous clubs, games played, the fact we've let Ekdal go.

How do you or anyone else decide he is a better player when literally every bit of evidence, including the current managers decision, go against it?

International caps?

[boyyanno]

International caps?

I think we'd all be in agreement that if Ekdal was English he wouldn't have any caps either.

[Goliath]

Worral is a miles better 3rd choice than Ekdal. You only need to look at their careers, individual honours, previous clubs, games played, the fact we've let Ekdal go.

How do you or anyone else decide he is a better player when literally every bit of evidence, including the current managers decision, go against it?

Well the current Bayern Munich manager went for Ekdal not Worrall and he seemed a decent judge of player.
Their careers aren't really relevant, Ekdal is younger and started in a more obscure league.

Worral is a decent player too but he had the fortune of being able to stick with his boyhood club as they got promoted to the Premier League so there was less disturbance in his career from a young age.

[RVclaret]

Well the current Bayern Munich manager went for Ekdal not Worrall and he seemed a decent judge of player.
Their careers aren't really relevant, Ekdal is younger and started in a more obscure league.

Worral is a decent player too but he had the fortune of being able to stick with his boyhood club as they got promoted to the Premier League so there was less disturbance in his career from a young age.

Worrall was starting regular games in the Premier League after captaining his team to promotion the season before, when Ekdal signed for us - bizarre comparison.

[Boss Hogg]

I wouldn't, all are slow but ekdal is far superior on the ball.

I’d agree with this based on what I have seen so far.