‘Fantastic’ midfielder’s return to Liverpool is confirmed as official announcement made
One player who’d been out on loan from Liverpool has officially returned to Merseyside after his temporary spell away from Anfield was cut short.
James Balagizi joined National League club Forest Green Rovers on a season-long loan deal last August, but the midfielder made just 10 appearances for Robbie Savage’s side before a hamstring injury impeded his progress.
As per The Athletic, the 22-year-old had been undergoing rehabilitation at his parent club in recent weeks, with his last appearance for the Gloucestershire outfit coming in an FA Cup defeat to Luton on Halloween.
Forest Green confirm Balagizi’s return to Liverpool
On Tuesday afternoon, Forest Green confirmed via their official website and social media channels that Balagizi has returned to Liverpool after the termination of his loan move.
The National League club posted this statement on X: ‘We can confirm James Balagizi has returned to Liverpool. The 22-year-old made 10 appearances for Rovers, scoring a last-minute equaliser against Scunthorpe United earlier in the season.
‘We would all like to thank James for his contributions this season, and we wish him the very best for the rest of his career.’
What next for Balagizi after another loan move is cut short?
The midfielder had caught the eye in his teenage years with some explosive performances in Liverpool’s academy and during a loan spell at Crawley in 2022, when then-manager Kevin Betsy predicted that he’d go on to have a ‘fantastic career’ (Liverpool Echo).
Alas, this is now the third time that Balagizi has been recalled from an intended season-long loan move in January, and at 22 he’s at an age where he must surely crave some stability in his career.
The contract that he penned at Anfield in the summer of 2023 now has just six months remaining, and it seems more likely than not that he’ll depart the Reds as a free agent in the summer. He never made a competitive senior appearance for LFC, twice being named in the bench in domestic cup ties in 2021/22 (Transfermarkt).
There remains the possibility of another short-term loan for the remainder of this season, and if that goes well it could open the door to a permanent transfer to the club he’s representing, but at present the midfielder is facing a somewhat uncertain future.
Hopefully Balagizi can soon make a full recovery from the hamstring injury which unfortunately saw his time at Forest Green cut short, and while his chances of making the grade at Liverpool now seem remote, we’d love to see him go on to enjoy a prosperous and successful career elsewhere.
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