Bournemouth loan chief Carl Fletcher is delighted seeing Sam Surridge earn a first England U21 call.
Surridge's first career goal in the non-league school of hard knocks came for Weymouth in a 3-2 defeat at Bedworth in the Southern Premier League in January 2016.
The following season, he stepped up to National South with Poole before making his Football League debut for Yeovil in a chastening 8-2 defeat by Luton in August 2017.
Surridge went on to score ten times for the Glovers before another spell in League Two saw him net 12 goals in 22 games for Oldham last season. His goalscoring exploits had Championship clubs clambering for his signature this season with Surridge continuing his development at Swansea.
Fletcher told afcb.co.uk: “All players develop at different stages of their career and, sometimes, what's right for one's pathway is not going to be the same for someone else.
“It's important to look at the individual and their needs. Certain things with the first team will dictate that and we have to balance up what's best for the club.
“I've learned that every team in the world wants a striker! We could have 20 strikers and we could get them all out on loan.
“They have to get used to men's football so that's usually their first loan. Each loan will be dependant on how well they do. You can have all these plans but it's irrelevant if the player doesn't do well.
“There are lots of different areas where you can see a successful loan. There is no God-given right for them to walk into a team or play every game. If they are doing well, the manager of the loan team will play them, there are no politics involved.
“Some players will get it straightaway, others will take two or three loans before it finally clicks. We find out a lot about our players when they are away from the football club.
“The way I look at it is there is no such thing as a bad loan. There is always something the players can benefit from.
“If a player hasn't played much then he needs to know why. Whatever the reason, there will always be a benefit to the loan in terms of experience and trying to get better each time they go."
