Having seen a summer move fail to develop, Liverpool midfielder James Balagizi has spent much of the campaign out injured, but is now back ahead of January.
Balagizi took in two loan spells last term, firstly with Wigan and then, after a mid-season recall, Kilmarnock, before heading back to Merseyside for pre-season.
But having spent the summer with Liverpool U21s, the expectation had been that the 21-year-old would then depart either on loan or even on a permanent basis.
A transfer never materialised, however, and he went on to score one and assist another in a 3-2 victory over Sunderland U21s in September.
That proved to be his only appearance in the first four months of the campaign, with a hamstring injury keeping Balagizi sidelined until the start of this month.
And with the U21s signing off for 2024 with a 3-3 draw at Crystal Palace on Monday, the versatile midfielder was able to come off the bench to cap his recovery from a lengthy issue.
While a winter break for the academy offers him little time to build on that, Balagizi’s return to fitness could prove timely as the January transfer window looms.
Having turned 21 in September, the chance of a first-team breakthrough at Liverpool may have passed him by, and he will be eager to make up for lost time at senior level.
As clubs in the Football League and beyond assessing their options heading into January, Balagizi could now seek a new loan or perhaps a permanent transfer.
He will not be the only Liverpool player finding himself in this position, with a senior core staying with the U21s for the first half of the season.
Liverpool set for academy reshuffle
That includes Tom Hill, 22 and Dominic Corness, 21, while Oakley Cannonier, Isaac Mabaya and Lee Jonas, all 20, have worked their way back from injuries of their own but find themselves needing exposure at first-team level.
Similar could even be said of James Norris, the 21-year-old left-back, but injury to Kostas Tsimikas has led to him being called up to Arne Slot‘s squad this month.
Liverpool’s pathways team will be monitoring potential destinations for those players in the upper age bracket of academy football, with a mid-season reshuffle likely to see younger talent promoted to the U21s.
Balagizi’s return from injury may have come at the perfect time, then, with a player who shone on loan at Crawley in 2022 now needing an opportunity elsewhere.
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