New England Revolution Discuss Jack Panayotou Loan

"I’ve found with other opportunities, sometimes getting out of our market, perhaps being a little bit uncomfortable, that’s a great way to develop for these young players."

Photo By J. Alexander Dolan

It was announced on Friday that Jack Panayotou would head back to Rhode Island FC, his second loan stint with the club in 2024.

Panayotou had enjoyed a run of starts before reverting to the New England Revolution bench as the club got healthier. He tallied a goal and an assist during his brief stint in the starting XI.

Caleb Porter discussed the decision to loan young players such as Panayotou and fellow youngster Noel Buck who is reportedly being loaned out to Southampton in the English Premier League.

“We have a great squad now with a lot of depth, and a lot of players in their prime,” Porter said. “I’ve said that, it’s really important that we have players in their prime years, where they are playing their best. They’re at their top, their peak, physically, tactically, technically, mentally. We have a large core of guys who are in their primes right now. Then we have some younger players who are reaching the prime. We have some young players who are pushing to be starting players right now. Peyton Miller, who we feel is a starter. Esmir [Bajraktarević] has been a starter all season long. It’s great to see those guys blossom. And then we have guys like Noel [Buck] and Jack [Panayotou], who are very good young players who haven’t played quite as much this year.

Porter then mentioned that Buck had struggled to stay healthy which played a role in him failing to make it into the starting XI.

“But with players like that, it’s important that they continue to develop,” Porter stated. “It doesn’t do them any good to be traveling and not playing. We need them to get minutes, so you have to come up with ways for that to happen. Sometimes that’s with Revs II; sometimes it’s with other opportunities. I’ve found with other opportunities, sometimes getting out of our market, perhaps being a little bit uncomfortable, that’s a great way to develop for these young players. We still have high hopes for all the players on our team. It’s important that we continue to develop them.”

The move can be viewed through two lenses. On the surface, it is a step down and could be a blow to a player’s confidence but this is a positive for Panayotou.

Instead of sitting on the bench, the 20-year-old will be playing meaningful minutes for a USL Championship club looking to make the playoffs in its debut season. There is no better moment for a player to develop and progress on the pitch.

Veteran Matt Polster discussed why the move is important for the Cambridge native.

“It's never easy when we're fully healthy,” Polster said. “The squad is very deep, but when we weren't, Jack came into the fold and did really well, so he showed that he’s somebody that we can trust and we can rely on. But at the same time, when you're getting your best players back from injury, you know you want to get minutes for them, and it's difficult to balance that out. It's a situation where, even now, with him going on loan, guys are going to have to battle for minutes within this group. I think it's important for Jack to go to a club where it's not that far away, somewhere where he's already done pretty well in, he's familiar with it. I think he's going to do great. It's very important to push yourself against better opposition and get a lot of minutes in doing it.”