Overseas involvement

Mario Pasalic opened his Serie A account for the 2019/20 season when he netted Atalanta’s fifth goal in a 7-1 drubbing of Udinese which keeps them third and only three points behind leaders Juventus. However, they continue to struggle in the Champions League, falling 5-1 at Manchester City for a third defeat on the spin. The Croatian midfielder was a half-time substitute at the Etihad Stadium.

There were mixed results for some of our other loanees around Europe. Victor Moses (pictured top) was back in the starting line-up for Fenerbahce after a prolonged absence through injury and he managed 81 minutes of their 5-1 triumph over Konyaspor. In France’s Ligue 1, Tiemoue Bakayoko started Monaco’s 1-0 win at Nantes. Danilo Pantic could not prevent MOL Fehervar slipping to a 2-1 home defeat against Ferencvaros in a top of the table clash in Hungary; they are now involved in a three-way tie at the top on 22 points.Our young loanees in the Dutch second tier fared better, however. Ike Ugbo might be without a goal since the start of the month, but he claimed a pair of assists to help Roda JC defeat NAC Breda 4-2 and Juan Castillo started for Ajax Under-21s as they won 3-1 at Excelsior.In Brazil, Nathan started for Atletico Mineiro at Sao Paulo, but they fell to a 2-0 defeat.

In England

Although Luton Town lost both of their away matches in the Championship this week, at Fulham on Wednesday night followed by Birmingham City on Saturday, Izzy Brown continues to make a positive impact for the Hatters. The 22-year-old set up a goal in each game, taking him to five assists in the English second tier this season, which is the joint-best record in the division.

His manager at Luton, Graeme Jones, praised his contribution after the Fulham game, saying: ‘I think he’s benefited from playing in a midfield three because he had to take that responsibility on board. Now as a no.10 it’s a bit easier, but he's never let the side down once off the ball. On the ball Izzy Brown's a Premier League player, so we're delighted to have him and in the form that he's in.’It was a tale of late goals for Conor Gallagher and Charlton Athletic this week. The midfielder started both of the Addicks games as they lost to a 98th-minute goal at Bristol City in midweek, which was followed by a 94th-minute equaliser to earn a point at Championship leaders West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.Huddersfield Town and Trevoh Chalobah had a better time, though, as they drew 0-0 with Middlesbrough and then defeated Barnsley on Saturday to move out of the relegation zone. The midfielder played 55 minutes of the first match and then came on for the final 23 minutes of their 2-1 triumph in the Yorkshire derby. They moved a point above Reading, for whom Matt Miazga featured in a 2-2 draw against QPR in midweek. The Royals’ game at Nottingham Forest this weekend was called off due to a waterlogged pitch.Having only previously started in the Carabao Cup back in August, Dujon Sterling was drafted in for his first Championship action of the season for Wigan Athletic this week. The right-back started their 1-0 defeat to Derby in midweek, retaining his spot as the Latics drew 2-2 with Bristol City yesterday.In League One, Richard Nartey helped Burton Albion to a pair of clean sheets following their heavy defeat against Fleetwood Town the previous weekend. The Brewers recorded a 1-0 win over AFC Wimbledon, which was followed by a goalless draw at Blackpool. Dropping down a division, Josh Grant started for Plymouth as they were on the wrong end of a 4-0 scoreline at Exeter in the Devon derby.