City were the most active side on the final day of the transfer window, so even the most ardent fan could be forgiven if they missed that Dedryck Boyata, Ryan McGivern and Roque Santa Cruz all departed for loan spells on the final day.
Belgian defender Boyata linked up with former Middlesbrough and England manager Steve McLaren at Dutch side FC Twente on a season long loan, McGivern heads to the SPL with Hibernian until 21 August and Santa Cruz completes his three-year City contract at Malaga.
Ghanaian international midfielder Mohammed Abu also left for the season, joining up with Rayo Vallecano in La Liga.
None of these three men played any part for their new clubs this weekend as the deals were finalised very late on Friday evening but we will keep you up to date with their progress on Loan Watch.
One player who did take part for his club was Harry Bunn, who played 72 minutes in Crewe Alexandra’s 1-0 win over Coventry City on Saturday.
Bunn has yet to get off the mark for The Alex in his spell but he has made an impact at his new club, coming off the bench for his first appearance against Scunthorpe a fortnight ago and teeing up the winning goal.
Elsewhere, the only other City loan player in action was Wayne Bridge who would have enjoyed his journey back from the North West after playing all 90 minutes in Brighton’s 3-1 win away at Burnley.
Although he didn’t quite match his goal-scoring heroics in Brighton’s previous game against Barnsley, Wayne is proving popular down on the south coast with his solid performances at left-back.
Brighton are currently in 4th place in the Championship, hinting that pre-season promotion predictions might not have been too far wide of the mark.
We’ll be back with more Loan Watch next week as Messrs Boyata, McGivern and Santa Cruz potentially debut for their respective clubs.
