City Linked With Championship Striker Swoop

August 23, 2024 Gary Lincoln City, Rumours, Sheff Weds, Transfers 0

Credit Graham Burrell

The Imps are being credited with interest in Sheffield Wednesday striker Bailey Cadamarteri, as per a thoroughly reputable source The Sheffield Star.

When a story is reported by a journalist from a local paper, it tends to be fairly accurate – the last time this happened, it was Cheltenham and Rob Street. It’s not to say it’s happening 100%, but in areas where local media has actually survived, it has done so by offering real insight based on actual facts.

“One of those clubs previously reported by this publication is League One outfit, Lincoln City, and it’s now understood that the Imps are locked in talks with Wednesday as they look to try and wrap up a deal, with manager, Michael Skubala, keen to get it done as soon as possible,” writes Joe Crann, a proper journalist with a proper paper not just looking for clicks or engagement.

“Lincoln are seen as a good fit given the style of football they play, however at this point in time there has been nothing finalised. That could change in the coming days though,” he adds.

The first thing that struck me here, given my age, was who his dad is! Danny Cadamarteri was a wonderkid back in 1993 when he exploded onto the scene at Everton and he had a solid career after that. One of his best friends in football is a lad called David Poppleton, a Wednesday fan who played briefly for us before the turn of the century. Not that that is relevant at all.

Bailey is 19 and has represented England at Under 19 and Under 20 level. We’ve signed a lot of players like that before, but Bailey is current international. I think that’s really interesting; we’re obviously talking about a real young talent here, the sort we often get when they’re a couple of years older and have drifted from their youth career. That’s not a slur on anyone we sign with former England honours, but to be linked with an actual England youth international is impressive – the last time that happened, correct me if I’m wrong, was Brooke Norton-Cuffy, and he did alright for us.

He’s come through the ranks at Hillsborough and hasn’t had a spell away. He was heavily involved last season, impressing manager Danny Rohl. In December, he won the EFL Young Player of the Month award after starting every game, scoring three goals and getting one assist for the month in the Championship.

He has been the subject of loan speculation before, but it was turned down. What’s really interesting is we’re looking for a nippy striker, I think, pace up top, and yet when clubs had an approach rejected, then-boss Darren Moore said this – “When you look at Bailey, he’s a boy in a man’s body. You look at him and you can see he has good size and stature. Credit to him even at the young age that he’s at, we’ve had offers in for him to go out on loan. People just see this physical specimen of a player, one that is young and moves really well.”

We’ll see how this progresses, but it does suggest we have possibly moved on from other striker targets. I imagine the club do not want to go into a deadline day still needing a striker, and ending up being pushed into a loan for a player like Jack Vale or Luke Plange, decent players, but no better than what we already have in the squad.