EXETER City manager Gary Caldwell admitted to having mixed emotions over the departure of loan defender Tristan Crama, who looks set for a permanent move to Championship side Millwall.

The hugely talented 23-year-old had initially joined the Grecians on a season-long loan from Premier League Brentford in the summer, but after receiving an acceptable offer for the Frenchman, Brentford have decided to recall him from St James Park and cash in on him.

There is no doubt that Crama’s departure is a hammer blow to the Grecians, who have so much still to play for this season, as he has been outstanding since his arrival. And that is why Caldwell’s delight that he has earned himself a good move is tinged with sadness that he is departing St James Park.

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“When you lose a player as good as Tristan, you are disappointed, but I think we’re all happy for him and we’re all proud of the job we’ve done as a football club and as the staff, in terms of welcoming another loan player in and seeing a young player develop and progress in such a short space of time,” Caldwell said. “I think we can all be really proud of that because Tristan was a player that had a fairly difficult loan last year, ended up not playing that much near the end of it at Bristol Rovers and here, he has flourished and we have given him a platform to show his talent.

“I think that’s something we should all be proud of and obviously, for future loan players that come here, if we keep doing the job that we’ve done for Tristan, for Vil (Sinisalo), even Stanno (Jay Stansfield).

“We know how to develop young players, we give them a brilliant environment and, like I said, a platform to show their talent and progress their career. So whilst we’re disappointed - and we have to obviously replace them – the whole football club should be proud and happy for Tristan that he’s getting a really good move and progressing his career.”

Replacing him is easier said than done, though. It is hard to think of a classier centre back City have had in many years than Crama, but the danger with loan players is that a situation like this can always arise and leave you powerless and searching for a replacement when you didn’t want, or expect to.

Crama’s departure means he will miss Saturday's trip to League One leaders Birmingham City and the Grecians’ mouthwatering FA Cup fourth round clash with Nottingham Forest in February. But while Caldwell is scouring the market for a replacement, it is a chance to step into the first team picture for the likes of Cheick Diabate and Ed James, recalled from loan spells at Bradford City and Yeovil Town respectively. To make matters worse for City, on-loan Rangers defender Johnly Yfeko has suffered another hamstring injury and will be on the sidelines for several weeks.

“The players within the squad have to step up,” Caldwell said. “We look, obviously, in the window elsewhere, and I think that’s what we do as a football club, and that’s why we can’t be overly disappointed.

“We have to move on, we have to find the next one that can step in and kind of fill that void, whether that’s within the squad, or whether that’s a younger player like Ed James, who has to step up to the plate and be better.

“We have to fill that void and I think that’s something we do well as a football club. There is always the next one and always somebody else that we can bring in the football club, give them the same environment and hopefully see their careers flourish as well.”

However, while the loan market is an evidently obvious place to bring in top class youngsters, Caldwell is also keen to see more of City’s own Academy graduates start pushing for first team places. He added: “Since I’ve been at the club I think the quality of loan players that we’ve got have been really good and they supplement the group well. I think, longer-term, we want to get more academy players back in the first team.

“We obviously had that special group that has probably gone now - Archie Collins, Josh Key, Harry Kite, Alex Hartridge and Joe Randall. That group was a real special group that doesn’t come along every single year.

“They’ve all left through the nest and are onto different things in their career. We need to keep pushing to get the next batch of younger players coming through.

“Obviously Jake Richards is the pin-up boy of the next generation. He’s doing incredibly well for a 17-year-old to be playing at the level he is week in, week out, game in, game out – it’s fantastic. It’s up to others to step up to the plate.

“Ed James, Pedro Borges, Tom Dean, Mitch Beardmore, they need to keep pushing, need to keep doing more because what we have shown is that if you are ready and capable, whether you’re 16, 17, it doesn’t matter, you will get opportunities to play and we need to try and get less loan players and more Academy players in the first team because then they are our players and we decide when they leave the football club. When you’ve got loan players then their parent club is always in control of that.”

Another player leaving St James Park - albeit on loan - is midfielder Borges, who has joined National South promotion-chasers Weston-super-Mare until the end of the season.