Harvey Barnes. Levi Colwill. Tosin Adarabioyo. Liam Delap. All really top players, and all cut their teeth in the Championship.
Some loan players are just too good for League One, and Premier League teams need to place them with a Championship side to match their ambition. I remember Barnes ripping it up for West Brom, Mason Mount doing the same at Derby and even Harry Wilson. All young players far too good for League One, needing senior experience.
Next season, there will be a crop of exciting young players itching to get into the Championship on loan. We’ll be at that level, and I’m sure we’ll be keeping an eye on the loan market, as well as teams like Middlesbrough, West Brom and Derby, all who have done well from it in the past.
What sort of names might be on the list of players available for loan? I’ve had a look at some of Premier League 2’s top performers and come up with five likely to be attracting lots of interest this summer. Who knows, we might even see one of them in a Lincoln City shirt!
Ryan Kavuma-McQueen (Chelsea)
Ryan Kavuma-McQueen is a 17-year-old winger at Chelsea who has come through the club’s academy after joining at a young age. He played regularly for the U18 side during the 2024-25 season while still eligible for a younger age group and also stepped up to feature for the U21s. He was named in a senior matchday squad for a Champions League fixture in 2025 and made his first-team debut in April 2026 in an FA Cup match against Port Vale. At international level, he has represented England at U15, U16 and U17 levels, scoring frequently across those age groups, and is also eligible for Uganda through his family background.
He’s a winger, as most of these players are, because with youth comes pace and confidence to take players on, something valuable in the Championship. He’s recently won the PL2 Player of the Month award, and he’s been namechecked by both Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior this season. He might be one, like Curtis Jone, Cole Palmer or Phil Foden, who goes straight to the first team, or he might grace the second tier for one electric campaign.
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