Aston Villa defender and Burnley winger head back to parent clubs...
The Club can today confirm that Kevin Toner and Josh Ginnelly have returned to their parent clubs after their respective loan spells expired.Toner, 20, joined the Saddlers from Aston Villa at the end of August and would go on to make 20 appearances during his time at the Banks’s.
The tough-tackling Irishman featured in 15 consecutive games for Jon Whitney’s side and played every minute up until his half-time withdrawal in our 0-0 draw with Southend United.
Meanwhile Ginnelly, 19, swapped Burnley for the Banks’s in July and made his Saddlers debut in our EFL Cup defeat to Yeovil in August.
Despite featuring in the Checkatrade Trophy victories over Grimsby Town and Sheffield United, he was made to wait until mid-October to make his League debut in a 3-2 victory over his former employers Shrewsbury Town.
The lively winger made his 14th and final appearance in Saddlers colours in our 1-0 win over Sheffield United on 29th November.
Jon Whitney on Kevin Toner:
“I thought Kev did well when he came in. He’s a really good lad and I have no issues with his attitude or on the training ground but I just felt we needed to look at a different option for the second half of the season.
“Matt Preston has moved on to the next level now and has become more consistent. We’ve then got Kory Roberts who we’ve seen can step in as well. So we felt it best to let Kev go back with our best wishes.
“Whenever we get a loan in, we want it to be beneficial for all parties. He’ll be wiser and stronger for the loan with us because I think it gave him a great insight into league football.
"Ultimately though, I don’t want to block the pathway of our own players moving forward into second half of the season.”
Jon Whitney on Josh Ginnelly:
“Quite early we were debating whether Josh would go back to Burnley but full credit to him, the penny dropped and he started to grow in confidence.
“His general attitude improved and he earned his place in the team for a run of games.
“I think we were waiting for him to kick on again but we need someone who is more productive in terms of goals and assists.
“I had to be honest with him and I couldn’t see him getting match minutes. He needs to go and play more games, whether that’s in League One or League Two.
“There’s nothing but pluses for Josh. I’ll give him a glowing reference but we just couldn’t wait for him to push on. I think we need someone further down the line in their development but there will be clubs in for him I’m sure.”
The club would like to thank Kevin and Josh for their efforts and wish them every success in the future.