Arsenal have cast doubt on reports that Harrison Dudziak has extended his loan to Braintree Town, though he may yet still do so.
Reports from last week suggested that Arsenal youngster Harrison Dudziak had had his loan spell extended by Braintree Town, having only initially signed on a one-month loan lasting until January 21st.
Yet Arsenal have cast doubt on those claims in their most recent loan watch post, writing that Dudziak’s loan spell has “come to an end” and that he’s “now returned to Arsenal”.
James McNicholas reports for The Athletic that Braintree Town are indeed interested in bringing Dudziak back for a longer-term loan, so the move is evidently still on the cards. But it sounds like it’s not a done deal yet.
Perhaps part of the problem is Dudziak’s current injury setback, as he picked up a knock ahead of the final game of his initial loan spell earlier this month.
Braintree may be waiting for the player to get fit before signing him again, saving them money on wages for someone they can’t currently use anyway.
The January transfer window will soon close, but that doesn’t apply to non-league clubs, so Dudziak could still move at some point next month if necessary.
Before his injury, Dudziak had made five starts in five games for Braintree, playing the full 90 minutes in four of those matches and completing 80 in the other.
Arsenal have sent out a few players on short-term non-league loans in recent months, with Daniel Oyetunde joining St. Albans City and Cam’ron Ismail signing for Uxbridge FC.
So far, all of them have ended when that initial one-month term expired, but Dudziak looks likely to be the exception.