Loans are complicated deals to arrange, the parent club – particularly if it is a Premier League club loaning a player to a lower division outfit – will want assurances that their player will get to play on a regular basis.

If that criteria is met, the loaning club will often get a talented youngster and only have to pay a fraction of his wages.

Charlton struck a very good deal when they brought Francis Coquelin in from Arsenal. Initially, Coquelin arrived at The Valley for a month. Though the Addicks wanted to keep him until January, the Gunners would only sanction a short term deal until they were happy that their player was getting the game time they wanted.

The deal was extended for a second month but Arsene Wenger inserted a 24 hour recall clause, which he invoked when he had a midfield injury crisis.

Coquelin was not happy to be recalled but he has gone from strength to strength since his return to the Emirates. Indeed, the Frenchman’s form has been so good he has earned himself a new contract with Arsenal. Earlier in the week, Arsene Wenger explained how close Coquelin was to leaving the Emirates:

“He was not in my plans at the start of the season. I told him to give absolutely everything until Christmas, then we would see together where he was. If you respect that you have done a big part of your job.

“To myself, I thought if he doesn’t play at Christmas at all, and there’s only six months of his contract to go, I would let him go somewhere else.

“He wasn’t happy when I called him back from Charlton. He played there and he thought I just called him back as cover. He expected in fact to play against QPR and was not playing and was surprised when I played him against West Ham.

“He knows it’s an opportunity for him now. Sometimes when you wait for such a long time to get your chance and you get it, the human being is a strange animal – the more you have suffered before, the more you enjoy it.

“On that front I think he has gone through a lot of doubt, questioning himself, certainly at many times being discouraged that he didn’t get a chance. Now that he has a chance he doesn’t want to let it slip away, but he is a winner and he wants to win – that’s why he is so committed.”

“I think he analysed well what he is good at: defending in midfield, he was in between the playmaking position and being a box-to-box player, but he is not that – he’s a sitting player who can win the ball.

“He restricted his game to that and you make success in life with what you’re good at. You don’t have all the qualities but you have to express what you’re good at and he’s good at that,” said Wenger.

Fortunes can change quickly in football as Coquelin has demonstrated.

Charlton moved to bring in Tottenham youngster, Milos Veljkovic, as Coquelin’s replacement. Unfortunately, a dislocated shoulder sustained at Middlesbrough, brought a premature end to Veljkovic’s stay in South London.

Tottenham are a club that expect their players to be regulars in the team when they are loaned out. Spurs were unhappy with the lack of game time Jon Obika got in his first loan spell at The Valley.

Some loan contracts have a fine written into them. If a player does not get the stipulated number of minutes on the pitch, the parent club levies a fine – normally around £2,000 – if the criteria is not met. Charlton had to agree to such a clause when they brought one of their loanees in this season.

The Addicks were over budget when they brought Alou Diarra in recently, so any further moves in the market are unlikely unless they can first loan a player or two out.

Simon Church was told by Bob Peeters that he was free to find a new club, a message that has been reiterated by Guy Luzon.

Church’s salary is a problem. He is on good money and few clubs would be willing to match it. Charlton would not insert any clauses in Church’s loan contract, they are keen to move his salary off the books. The Welsh international’s contract expires in the summer and the Addicks will not offer him a new deal.

Another player Charlton would be willing to loan out is keeper, Neil Etheridge. Etheridge has slipped down the pecking order since Marko Dmitovic’s arrival in January, and is currently third choice.

Ben Roberts would probably release Etheridge if he could find a club where he would be the first choice keeper. Etheridge only signed a deal until the summer in January.

He may be off to a lower league club in the near future.