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Loan transfers are an excellent opportunity for players to gain some first-team experience elsewhere. Sadly in today's footballing jargon, a 'loan move' is nothing more than offloading of surplus players, who usually have no future at their parent club.
Well, in all honesty, like many other things in life, the outcome of the loan move completely depends upon what the player makes out of the given opportunity.
Even as large armies of youngsters sweat it out on loan, it is only once in a while that any player has a breakout spell with the club. A loan move may guarantee first-team football, but it surely doesn't guarantee success.
Unfortunately, there have been a lot more unsuccessful loan spells, than there have been successful ones. But, when players do shine during these spells, it is a mutually beneficial deal for all the parties involved.
With that being said, let us get straight to the 5 players who made the most of the loan opportunity and had a loan spell that set their careers on the path to glory.
#5 Mikel Arteta
A lot of people don't know that the current Manchester City assistant coach Mikel Arteta was a La Masia graduate.
Arteta could not break into the Barcelona first team and was loaned off to PSG, as a 19-year-old. From there, he went on to join Scottish giants Rangers, then heading back to Spain with Real Sociedad, which turned out to be a disastrous move.
He was given a chance to resurrect his career when David Moyes signed him on loan for Everton in the 2005 January window. He had an instant impact on the club's performance and even scored a goal and assisted another two as a deep-lying midfielder in just 12 games.
After this loan spell, he was signed by the Toffees on a permanent deal and he established himself as one of the best midfielders in England over the next two or three seasons.
He would finally end his career at Arsenal, it just shows how one loan deal changed his career.
#4 Jermain Defoe
The 36-year-old is one of the most underrated strikers of his generation. Defoe made his professional debut with West Ham, but it was his loan move to Bournemouth that made him a star overnight.
He joined the Cherries on loan while they were still struggling in the Second Division (Now Football League One). And as an 18-year-old he managed to score in a record-equaling 10 consecutive league matches, helping them secure a seventh-place finish in the 2000-01 season.
In 29 league appearances, he scored 18 goals, which set the tone for the rest of his career, in which he would secure a move to Tottenham Hotspurs, helped Sunderland avoid relegation for two seasons and became the seventh highest goal scorer in the Premier League history.
After he set the English third tier on fire as a teenager, the then West Ham manager, Harry Redknapp said that:
"He's done great. I sent him out to Bournemouth to get some experience playing league football and he's coped marvelously. To score 10 goals in 10 games is a terrific achievement. He's a bright lad who's full of confidence. Nothing knocks him, he's a typical goal-scorer. If he misses, he'll be there the next time looking for a goal. He's a kid with a big future."
#3 Thibaut Courtois
The current Real Madrid No.1, Thibaut Courtois, is a Genk academy product and made his professional debut for the club as a 16-year-old.
He was fairly successful in Belgium, but the opportunity to establish himself as one of the best came knocking when Chelsea signed the teenager for £9 million in 2011.
But, with Petr Cech still in his prime, his game time was limited at the Stamford Bridge and in what would turn out to be one of the best loan deals ever, he joined Atletico Madrid soon after his transfer to Chelsea.
At Madrid, he had the daunting task to replace David De Gea, who had left for Manchester United that season and the Belgian didn't disappoint. In short span of time, he established himself as one of the best keepers in La Liga, winning the Europa League, Copa del Rey and LaLiga with the club in his three seasons.
He also claimed the Zamora trophy two years in a row. After such an illustrating loan spell, he claimed the Chelsea No.1 spot from Cech, won the Premier League Golden Glove and recently won the World Cup Golden Glove with Belgium.
Right now he is back in LaLiga, but with the bitter rivals of Atletico, Real Madrid.
#2 Kevin De Bruyne
Kevin De Bruyne, another Genk academy product, was already a sensation in the Belgian league. So, after two seasons in which he showed his pinpoint passing skills by racking up assists for Genk, he moved to the Premier League with Chelsea in 2012 January window.
But, it is well known that Mourinho never gave him much chance in the first team, so he was sent out on loan to Werder Bremen in the 2012 summer transfer window.
He made the most of this chance and in a successful season, scored 10 goals and assisted 9 goals in 33 appearances for the club. These stats not only made him the best attacking player for the club that season but also proved that he is indeed a player for the bigger stage.
After this season, he became one of the most sought-after talents in Europe and his journey would finally bring him back to the Premier League with Manchester City, where he has established himself as one of their key players.
#1 Romelu Lukaku
Probably one of the best performing loanee ever, Romelu Lukaku is another one of Mourinho's transfer blunders that cost Chelsea a world-class striker, barring the last few months.
Following a series of successful displays for his childhood club, Anderlecht, he was signed by Chelsea in 2011, but only played 8 league matches for the Blues that season.
Thus, he was loaned out to West Bromwich Albion the next season, where he not only became their top scorer for the season, but made history, when he became only the fourth player ever to score a hat-trick against Manchester United in the Premier League on 19 May 2013.
In his loan spell at West Brom, he established himself as a deadly striker and transformed his image from a promising talent to a world-class finisher.
Following his loan spell at West Brom, he played for Everton for three years and now plays for Manchester United.
At just 25, he is the all-time record goal-scorer for Belgium and has already crossed the 100-goal mark in the Premier League.
