There was once a time when youngsters in British football would deem plying their trade in a foreign country as too much of a risk to their careers, leaving them to contemplate whether it made sense to rely on loan moves to other domestic clubs to enhance their stock in the game. However, that particular trend has been changing in recent years with prospects more inclined to move to the continent in a bid to gain regular football. Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham are already deemed to be success stories, but there are also players with varying reputations who have taken a different path.
Just like more punters are benefitting from using LeoVegas Bonus, the same can be said of Noni Madueke taking the opportunity to move to PSV Eindhoven. With no immediate pathway into the Tottenham Hotspur squad and having rejected the advances of Manchester United, Madueke made his way to the Dutch giants in June 2018, and the 19-year-old has already been provided with 30 appearances in the first team. Despite just 10 of those coming from the starting lineup, the attacker is perfectly placed to become a mainstay in the team over the next couple of years. Now a member of the England Under-21 setup, the future is bright for the youngster.
Faced with a similar predicament, Marcus Edwards responded to his lack of a breakthrough at Spurs by moving to Portugal with Vitoria de Guimaraes. While the Primeira Liga does not possess strength in depth from top to bottom, Edwards has contributed 12 goals and 12 assists from his 63 appearances in the country, an outstanding return from a talent who could have lost his way. There will come a time when the 22-year-old wishes to take on a new challenge but for now, he is in the best place to progress his career.
Sticking with the Portuguese theme and Edwards is joined in Primeira Liga by Ryan Gauld and Angel Gomes. Once heralded as the 'Scottish Messi', Gauld has moved from club to club to try and live up to his unfair comparison to the legendary Argentine, but the 25-year-old has now settled at Farense. Having helped the club to promotion, Gauld has since contributed seven strikes and four assists in the top flight, and his contract expiry in the summer will surely lead to him getting another chance at a big club.
Gomes, who rejected the chance to stay at Man United last summer, sees his long-term future at Lille, but he has secured invaluable game time on loan at Boavista. Despite four goals and three assists being fewer than Gauld, the 21 starts for the young Englishman are far more important with regards to his development, and he is expected to be part of the Lille squad next season.
Aaron Hickey spent much of the last campaign being linked with the likes of Manchester City, Southampton and Bayern Munich, but the 18-year-old instead opted to move to Italy with Bologna. The transfer surprised many given that the Hearts left-back had his pick of clubs, although the Scottish teenager will argue that making 11 outings in Serie A at this stage of his career can only benefit him in the long term. Holding a contract until 2024, do not be surprised to see Hickey move elsewhere a year earlier.
