Which Clubs Could Best Suit Chirewa As The Zimbabwean Lined Up For A Loan Move
There is no doubt Tawanda Chirewa is one of the biggest challenges Gary O’Neil probably had regarding decision for the Zimbabwean attacking midfielder’s immidiate future at the club.
The 20-year-old who stepped up real quick to Gary O’Neil’s first-team having first signed up for the Wolves Under-21s side last season where he scored five goals in seven Premier League 2 matches, enjoyed a breakout season after marking his senior bow coming off the bench in the Premier League games against Brighton & Hove Albion, Newcastle United, Aston Villa, West Ham United and Nottingham Forest, before earning his full debut at home against Arsenal.
Chirewa benefitted from the absence of senior attacking midfielders Pedro Neto, Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-Chan who were out through injury to showcase his talent in the senior team and he did not disappoint as he impressed Gary O’Neil consequently remain stuck around the senior team and was part of the team ‘s successful preseason camp in Spain and the United States of America.
However with the depth that the team currently have at the moment having brought in three new signings in Pedro Lima, Rodrigo Gomes and Jorgen Strand Larsen, the chances for Chirewa to get regular game time became limited.
English premier league clubs often send their standout young academy players out on loan to teams lower down the pyramid to ensure they are given valuable senior experience.
Famously, Harry Kane spent time at Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich City, and Leicester City. Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah had six months at Leeds, and former Chelsea youngster Ian Maatsen who is now at Aston Villa, impressed on loan at Burnley during the Clarets’ title-winning Championship season in the 2022/23 campaign. Clearly, loans come in different forms and are being increasingly used by clubs across the English top flight to further the development of their promising youngsters.
One of Gary O’Neil’s headache at the moment could be where to send Chirewa for his next phase of development.
In the past season Wolves have sent approximately fifteen promising young players out on loan to different clubs like Stoke City, QPR and Plymouth Argyle in the English Championship, League One sides Northampton and Wycombe Wanderers, Scottish sides Rangers and Hearts, Portuguese side FC Familicao, FC Cincinnati in the USA’s MLS, Spanish side Villerreal, Swiss sides Grasshoppers and Servette , Greek side Olympiacos, Germany ‘s Frankfurt in the Bundasliga and as far as Japan’s top side Carezo Osaka,
Only Chiquinho who first had a failed stint at Stoke City before enjoying success in Portugal with Familicao seem to be the only one to fit in O’Neal’s plans for the 2024/25 season.
Chirewa having shown huge potential, even internationally where he scored for Zimbabwe in a World Cup qualifiers match against South Africa clubs in the Championship league, or mid table Serie A, and Bundesliga clubs could best suit his next phase of development.
The main focus though is always playing time and the quality of training facilties the club in question offers. Reputation is also tied to the league and club so for instance picking serie A over the Norwegian League will increase your players rep and transfer value.
The playing time offered in lower tiers is always higher than that you get from top tier teams.
But, from the list of clubs that Wolves have sent their players on loan last season, Stoke City, Plymouth Argyle, Spanish side Villerreal, Olympiacos in Greece and Germany’s Frankfurt are more ideal for the Zimbabwean.
