In the latest of his regular articles, Kyle Mitchell takes an in-depth look at the latest Summer Transfer Rumours, and considers what each player, if signed, could bring to the team.
Since the season has ended we have been linked with a number of players, with a few strong rumours which have been supported by comments made by management at the club and a few just being small rumours based on nothing. Whether they are likely to happen or not I take a look at the early mentioned possibilities for incoming players to the club.
Miles Storey - We were rumoured to be in the market for Storey if Swindon released him but following Swindon announcing the ten players they have released it seems unlikely, with him being retained by the club.
The striker, who has scored 5 goals in 40 games whilst on loan at Portsmouth and Newport this season, probably would’ve been seen as a prospect for now. There is still a possibility that we could make a move for the 21 year old with an increased budget. But it is also more plausible that Swindon have seen enough of him whilst out on loan to decide he is ready for the first team, especially with the release of 22 goal scorer Andy Williams.
Callum Reilly - Reilly is a bit of a confusing prospect. Having seen reports that he can play defence, midfield and striker it is a bit of a wonder what he actually does. Reilly played 20 games this season between Birmingham and Burton and the 21 year old netted one goal.
Again as a prospect he could be an interesting signing after being released by the Blues but at the same time there may be better options out there, especially since we know what we need for the team and he seems to struggle to settle into one position.
Ian McLoughlin - After being released from MK there is a strong link for a return to the Bescot for McLoughlin. The stopper played 8 games for MK this season as they achieved promotion keeping 4 clean sheets, whilst conceding 10 in the other 4.
The 23 year old could offer a lot in the goal of replacing O’Donnell and whether he would be brought in as an automatic number 1 or to be competition for young MacGillivray. Having a bit of experience, most of which has been at the league 1 level he could add a great option in goal.
One worry is that he has played little over 30 games in the two seasons since being on loan for us, he may struggle to get back into a rhythm in goal. My biggest worry is that we are rushing into finding a replacement for O’Donnell when we have MacGillivray who is a good keeper already in the ranks. People keep arguing he doesn’t have the experience but it isn’t necessary and he needs to build up experience by playing, bring in another youngster and raise them up behind him as backup.
Sam Ling - 18 year old Sam Ling hasn’t managed to break through into the starting 11 for recently relegated Leyton Orient but the club see him as an exciting prospect. At first he probably would be a prospect, it would be likely he would sit in the reserves with the occasional appearance in the first team.
The 18 year old could be seen as a long term solution to our problems at right back with the release of Ben Purkiss leaving the position in question. Bringing in a right back is a must for the club this summer, whether or not an 18 year old is what we need at the moment is a different question.
Lewis Alessandra - Alessandra was one of the first players we were linked with after the end of the season. The 26 year old netted 13 times for Plymouth on their way to the play offs and it was rumoured that Bury were also interested in the forward.
It would cost to bring the 26 year old to the Bescot with no news about him being released around. The question is though, is it worth bringing him in when he has only had one season one double digit season.
I would say yes. We need backup options at striker and people asked the same question when we brought Bradshaw in from Shrewsbury. Deano knows what he is doing with transfers, he has shown it with a number of great freebie signings and now he is being handed more money to work with we need to trust his moves in the transfer market.
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas - The 24 year old who has recently been released by Bristol City would be a questionable signing. With a number of criticisms about his character off the field and his effort levels on the field it would take a great season to convince a lot of people.
I agree it could be a questionable signing. He has never proved to be the talent that he was thought to be whilst at Arsenal but whilst his character and work rates have been questioned there is one point that must be put forward:
He scores goals…If Deano, and it is a big if, could force him to live up to his potential then he could be a great signing. Talking to numerous Bristol City fans on the final day there was one thing which I was hearing consistently, he is lazy. But if a striker who is apparently extremely lazy can still score 21 and 12 goals in the previous two seasons whilst at league 1 level then maybe that is what we need.
We need another 15/20 goal scorer to really make a push for promotion and maybe getting JET on a free is the answer. Despite being lazy, not living up to potential and having character issues he still has 33 goals in two seasons. He may not fit our way of playing but another 12 goals last season and we could’ve been a lot closer to the playoffs than what we were at the end of the season.
Andy Williams - Seeing that Williams has been released by Swindon seems odd. He scored 22 goals this season as the team made the playoff final, only to be embarrassed 4-0 by Preston. One reason he may have been released is because he has only scored 3 times since the end of January. 3 goals in 21 games, after scoring 19 in the first 32 games he played in.
Now 22 goals in a season is a great achievement but he only hit the netting 3 times after January. That may have been down to him being played differently or just not being in the same form but the question is do we take the risk on him. If he can score 19 goals in the first 32 games then sign him quickly, but if he is going to fizzle out like he has done this season is he going to be worth the wages.
Others…: Brandy, Lalkovic, Gerrard, Foderingham - Now we have also been linked with the 4 above, albeit very briefly. With all of them being released by their clubs there has been a proposed question for 3 of a return to Walsall whilst Foderingham could be seen as a good addition.
Now Brandy was a product of the system we had for that season and as soon as he was offered better he moved on despite us reviving his career. If we took him back I wouldn’t be too happy. He is a good player but I question how much praise he received because of the players he played with that season (Grigg, Paterson, etc.). If we get to August and still haven’t signed a winger and he is on the market I would then make the move for him but I think we should look elsewhere before leaping on the chance to resign him.
Lalkovic has apparently been transfer listed by his current club Barnsley. He showed talent whilst he was with it and he could win us a game, or do nothing. He was a Sawyers like player, brilliant on his day but on other days he would just throw in average performances. I would resign him though, he did well with us and never made many mistakes. Try and mould him more into the system and he could be a key player.
Gerrard is a player I would sign quickly. We don’t necessarily need another CB in my opinion but he could add something to the team. Maybe bringing him back would add a bit more fire into the team, he could possibly be a Butler like figure. However the problem is that at the moment we are likely to line up with O’Connor and Downing as the pair at the back, so how much would he play if he did come back?
Finally Foderingham. The former league 1 team of the year player could come in and be a good starter. However I think he would be better as a backup. He played 50 games last season for the playoff finalists and has now been released. If we were signing a keeper to be a starter then I would go for McLoughlin. Foderingham though could be better as a backup to MacGillivray and I think would be more likely to accept a drop down to 2nd choice than what McLoughlin would be.
By: Kyle Mitchell.