Simeon Akinola

If reports were to be believed, Simeon Akinola was a target for City the moment Danny and Nicky Cowley came to the club. He’d been a key player for them during their time at Braintree and had a price tag of £40,000. That was too rich for the Imps, and in Akinola moved into the Football League instead, joining Barnet.

His time in a weak Barnet side was limited, and by the time August 2017 arrived, Akinola was available for a reported £25,000. We were keen on the deal, and Barnet wanted to sign Dave Tarpey from Maidenhead as a replacement. Akinola came to Sincil Bank, and the papers were signed, but the Tarpey deal dragged on. Eventually, around the 11pm window closure, paperwork was sent in, and Akinola was our player.

Or rather, we thought he was. The EFL wouldn’t ratify it, and despite Simeon training with us, he wasn’t officially announced. People saw him at the ground and asked for pictures, but he wouldn’t have one taken out of respect for Barnet. He was still their player, after all.

That’s how he remained. The transfer didn’t go through, and Simeon was forced to return, broken-hearted, to Barnet. He played 32 times for them as they were relegated but got back into the Football League a couple of years later with Southend, only for them to also be relegated.

You can read the whole saga here, if you wish.