Hornby secures Belgium loan move

A number of reports saying that it's a loan with an option to buy. Little strange if so as I was under the impression he was highly rated in the U23s.

By all accounts he failed to impress when involved pre-season so maybe the step up is too much for him right now.

Unfortunately, nowadays, being a "good" footballer is not enough.

You have to be an exceptional footballer and also have to be a super fit athlete and that means that you also need a remarkable turn of pace in order to impress at EPL level.

Many of our youngsters have some, but not all of these attributes.

So, they are being given opportunities to show what skills and attributes they do have, in other leagues.

If, they impress at that level, they might then get a recall to EFC, otherwise, they have the option to acquire a living in football in a different league / environment.

It's a tough world and getting tougher every season.

I wish the lad all the best and will be sure to keep an eye on his progress and results.

Hugh, with all due respect, I would never call it a "tough world".

Yea, it's good to keep an eye on such players, but also the other kind. Checked how Landon Donovan is doing in Futsal, and he has 5 goals in 8 appearances. Would be fun to watch him in action in futsal.

Jim, the issue with Hornby is that which is labelled against Calvert-Lewin, he is not a finisher. Hornby is not in the right places in the box. He does not score enough goals, and when he does score it's not from the usual places a No 9 does, headed goals aside. He needs to prove himself, but I think the problem is he switched position too late to be more "natural" at striker.

Kristian, some perspective on how good Hornby is, is a reference to his age. He is 19, but he turns 20 in a couple of weeks, ie well before Moise Kean does. He's a million miles behind Kean, and so the reality is the lad will never make it.

Have you also noticed how more of our youngsters are going out on loan to clubs in Europe?

Is this general for the whole of the Premier League, something I had just not realised before or the contracts of Marcel Brands?

Both Phil. Clubs like Chelsea have been doing it for years. However, they used to do it to specified clubs they had some sort of control over, and it tended not to be English lads.

However, since our success in the Youth World Cups (U17 and U20), English youth talent is viewed as supreme, and the Premier League is viewed as underutilising it. So, more foreign clubs are looking to take our kids. The kids didn't want to go abroad but Sancho and the German contingent changed all of that.

So, there is a general trend or a fashion, for English youth players to go abroad on loan, but I suspect Brands is assisting with this.

Also, have you seen Anthony Gordon's goal last night? I bring him up because he was heavily linked for a move to Germany in the summer, with Dortmund and Bayern interested in buying him.

Steve #7 " the issue with Hornby is that which is labelled against Calvert-Lewin, he is not a finisher".

Yes, Hornby has never impressed me in the U23s. Not just the finishing when he has the chance but also a lack of sense of awareness and positioning.

I wish him well.

Thanks, Steve and Brent. Always great to hear from people who have actually seen the player perform.

He's an impressive specimen Mike. Big strong, can bully defenders, can link up play, can hold up the ball … does this sound familiar?

Fraser was a midfielder and suddenly had a big growth spurt and filled out and got moved to centre-forwards quite recently, as in in the last 2 years. He has zero penalty box awareness. He scored a cracking pair of goals for Scotland, but they were both long range goals. He's done that for us before too.

But in the "mixer", like Calvert-Lewin, you just don't see him in position for tap-ins. But that's a bit unfair to Calvert-Lewin who was often in position, and did score such goals, at youth level.

Hopefully, Fraser will have the time of his life in Belgium and it will be the making of him.

What I've seen of Hornby (albeit not a huge amount), he won't cut it in the top flight yet anyways, he needs to move to get a few years under his belt.

Anybody else think he looks a lot like Robert de Niro in Cape Fear?

Unsie kind of hyped Hornby up about 18 months ago as he has a tendency to do with kids coming from the Under-18s to Under-23s. Then Hornby started hyping himself up and talked about going out on loan after he scored for the Scots Under-21s. That was about a year ago and he really hasn't done much since.

To Hugh's point, Sheedy said his job as Under-18 coach was to try and get as many kids as possible to have careers as professionals. He didn't say "with Everton" so being "good" is all about context. Additionally, with growth spurts not everyone who is "good" at 16 is "good" at 21 e.g. Kissock.

Kevin

I saw Connolly play several times for under 23s and England. I always though he was the weakest link in the quartet of Williams, Dowell, Kenny and himself. He was at the worst championship team last year and is now going to one of the better League 1 teams. So he seems to have his level. Maybe he will be a late bloomer like Lundstram.

Kieran

Agree with Lundstram. Working your way up through the leagues didn't do Jamie Vardy any harm either despite being let go at an early age by Sheffield United (?)