Mallorca's Loan Strategy Is Simply Not Working This Season
RCD Mallorca's young loanees are struggling badly in 2024-25, with Marc Domènech, Dani Luna and Jan Salas all failing to nail down regular football.
Mallorca’s loan programme was supposed to be quietly ticking along in the background this season, giving their brightest young talents proper game time. Instead, it’s turned into a bit of a nightmare — and the club are running out of excuses.
The Plan vs The Reality
Every club does it. You’ve got players who aren’t quite ready for the first team, so you ship them out, let them get some miles on the clock, and bring them back better for it. Mallorca have tried exactly that this season with a handful of promising youngsters — and it’s largely gone pear-shaped.
The one bright spot? Javi Llabrés, who actually did enough in pre-season to convince manager Arrasate to keep him in the first-team squad. His loan spell at Eldense last campaign worked a treat, and now he’s reaping the rewards. Fair play to him.
But the others? Not so much.
The Loanees Who Are Struggling
- Marc Domènech — The Llucmajor-born midfielder moved to Ceuta in the January window, but he’s barely got a look-in. One start, substituted at half-time, zero goal contributions. Rough.
- Dani Luna — Had a decent spell at Cartagena last season, so there was genuine optimism. At Huesca this term, though, he’s lost his starting spot and has only started once in the last six matches.
- Jan Salas — Possibly the most unlucky of the lot. He barely featured at Córdoba (just five appearances), was recalled to the island, and has now suffered a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury to his right knee. His season is done. Absolutely gutting.
So Whose Fault Is It?
Look, it’s not all on the club. The players themselves have to take some responsibility — you can set up the right move, but you’ve still got to go and perform when you get out there. That’s on them.
That said, Mallorca clearly aren’t getting the loan decisions right this season. Finding the right club, at the right level, where a young player will actually get proper minutes — that’s a skill in itself, and right now it’s an area where the Balearic club are coming up short.
When loans work — like Llabrés at Eldense or Luna at Cartagena the season before — they can be brilliant for everyone involved. The player develops, the club gets a better asset back, and it costs relatively little. But this season, those wins are few and far between on Son Moix’s radar.
Mallorca need a proper rethink of how they’re managing this side of the operation. The talent might well be there — it’s the pathway that needs sorting.