Everton U23s boss David Unsworth believes midfielder Conor Grant will have learnt from his loan spell with the Blues, despite it having been cut short at the end of last week. The 21-year-old, who had been due to remain with the Blues for the whole season, played for the Merseysiders’ U23s in a 1-0 victory over Manchester City at Southport this afternoon.
Town boss Mick McCarthy ended the youngster’s spell early as his first-team opportunities have been limited since joining the Blues in August. The Fazakerley-born schemer, whose loan will formally end in January, made four starts and three sub appearances without scoring.
"I’m a big fan of the loan system - I wish it was still a youth loan system - but I sometimes think a bad loan situation isn’t always a bad thing in the long run,” Unsworth, who himself made 16 appearances on loan with Town in 2005, scoring one goal, told the Liverpool Echo.
"It’s a great experience. Ipswich is a great club with great people, Mick [McCarthy] is a fantastic guy, so he will have learnt something from it.
"This is what these players have to do, it’s fine. We certainly will target a few of the players to go out on loan in January.
"He [Grant] has not been getting the minutes he, or us, would desire. So, he’s going to be playing for us up until January and hopefully with a view to loan him out in January if the right club comes around.”
Prior to his stint with Town, Grant had spent time on loan with Motherwell and Doncaster Rovers.
Meanwhile, the Blues' U23s are in action against Crystal Palace on Monday afternoon at Playford Road (KO 1pm).