Leyton Orient had a deadline day to remember, with no fewer than five incomings for Richie Wellens’ side.
By some distance the busiest club in the third tier yesterday, the O’s also had two players depart Brisbane Road, including club captain Omar Beckles.
Orient also added two goalkeepers after Watford loanee Dan Bachmann suffered a freak accident in the warm-up against Port Vale. Will Dennis (AFC Bournemouth) and Tobi Oluwayemi (Celtic) boost their options in that department, while left-back James Morris also joins from the Hornets.
Completing their business on the final day of the window were Dylan Levitt from Hibernian and Stoke wideman Favour Fawunmi.
There is so much to speak about that it’s tough to find a place to start, but it has to be in goal. There won’t have been too many clubs to have ever signed three goalkeepers in such a short space of time, but Orient have been desperately unfortunate in that area of the pitch. Tommy Simkin returned to parent club Stoke City at the beginning of January, leaving summer signing Killian Cahill to continue in goal for the O’s.
Understandably, they wanted further additions, and Orient signed Bachmann on the eve of their clash with Port Vale last weekend. And while the extent of his injury hasn’t yet been revealed, the Austrian is looking at a spell on the sidelines. So, in came Dennis, who most recently spent a season in Scotland’s top flight with Kilmarnock in the 23/24 campaign. And Oluwayemi is also familiar with the Ayrshire outfit, after spending the first half of this season with Killie.
Moving further forward, full-back Morris has had limited senior football during his four and a half years with Watford. He has penned a permanent deal in East London, which should give him the chance for regular first-team action. That is something that Dylan Levitt struggled with while at Manchester United, but spells north of the border with Dundee United and Hibernian have allowed him that much-needed experience in the men’s game.
Young winger Fawunmi was never going to have that in his locker at just 19 years of age, but this loan spell gives him the opportunity to express himself. Captain Beckles leaves Orient with exactly 200 appearances to join Gillingham. Their final piece of business saw Jack Moorhouse return to parent club Manchester United.
Orient In Need Of A Boost
Last season’s beaten Play-Off finalists also struggled in the first half of that campaign, but any chances of repeating their scintillating run this time around are highly unlikely. Orient suffered perhaps their worst defeat of the season on Saturday against basement side Vale, which may have prompted the need for so much business on the final day of the window.
That was Orient’s third successive loss, and leaves the gap above the bottom four at just a single point. With all six teams below them in the table having a game in hand, the O’s will need a little bit of luck on their side if they are going to increase that advantage above the relegation places in the third tier.
Signing a load of players isn’t often the answer, but there seems to be some real quality additions in there. If that is the case, then Leyton Orient will be able to start looking up, rather than down, in a few weeks’ time.