Jack Stretton has been recalled from his loan at National League side Oldham Athletic by parent club Stockport County. The 23-year-old arrived on loan during the summer transfer window but has failed to earn sufficient game time.
Stretton made an appearance off the bench for Oldham and played the full 90 for them in a 2-1 victory against the Stoke City Academy side in the National League Cup.
The young English striker began his career in the Derby County academy sides and appeared to have a lot of promise, scoring 24 goals in 42 games for the academy side and stepping up well to their under 23s where he netted 16 goals in 27 matches. Stretton made his debut for the Rams in 2020 against Birmingham City in the Championship.
He made four league appearances for Derby and this was followed by a month-long loan to Stockport County between March and April 2021 and in his five National League appearances, he scored an impressive three goals. Unfortunately for Stretton, this is where most of his success started and ended.
The season after, he would manage just 12 appearances for Derby and this was followed by further unsuccessful loan moves to Carlisle and then to Stockport County again. However, in January 2023, Stockport decided to take a risk on Stretton and signed him from Derby for a rumoured fee of £100,000 which is not a negligible fee for a National League side to spend.
This season, Stretton made one appearance for Stockport in an EFL Trophy game against League Two side Accrington Stanley. This seemingly convinced National League Oldham to bring him in on loan.
Looking Back on His Oldham Loan
It is fairly safe to say that this loan will not have gone how Stretton would have been hoping for it to go. He has only played a single minute of league football for the Latics and was unable to impress in his National League Cup start.
His lack of game time may not be entirely his fault, however. Oldham currently sits in 6th place in the National League which is a playoff spot and other forward players such as Jordan Garrick have also failed to feature for the side.
With players like Mike Fondop-Talum netting five goals and providing four assists from the striker position and James Norwood scoring once and assisting once, the announcement of his recall is hardly a surprise that manager Micky Mellon has struggled to find a place for Stretton in his side. If his current selections are producing success, it is not hard to imagine why he may not decide to instead feature a loan player, potentially to the detriment of results.
Stretton will likely be frustrated to be 23 years old and in the position of being recalled, having failed to impress in the National League. His previous goal-scoring loan in 2021 however, should give him some hope and if another side can offer him a loan with consistent game time, Stretton could prove many wrong if he plays to the level he has already proven himself capable of.