Being promoted to the Championship has opened up four ESC slots for Lincoln City, widening where we can scout for players and make signings.
Or has it?
In his exclusive interview with the Stacey West yesterday, Jez George explained how, at this current moment, there is uncertainty as to exactly how many ESC slots Championship clubs might have, after the FA wrote to the Home Office suggesting a reduction by 50%.
That would see the Imps only able to sign two ESC players, the same as in League One. While we wait to see if Ivan Varfolomeev has converted, Erik Ring certainly has not, and that could drastically change how the Imps operate.
“This is typically difficult for us. So, the rules say four, two in League One, two in League Two and then four in the Championship,” said Jez.
While that is certainly the expected norm, he outlined how there is currently a degree of uncertainty due to a situation between the Premier League and EFL.
“Those four places were like pretty pivotal in our strategy and then we got told maybe a month ago that actually the FA had gone to the home office and potentially asked them to cut that by 50% because of an ongoing situation between the Premier League and the EFL about short-term loans.”
While the Imps’ recruitment team had to plan for two slots, it seems there is set to be a U-turn.
“We probably resigned ourselves, being honest, to that being cut to two, which would have been a blow to us.
“In the last 48 hours, we’ve been told actually the contrary, that The FA have now changed their position to go to the Home Office and recommend that we keep the four places.
“That hasn’t been rubber stamped. So we’re sitting here, middle to end of May, window opens in three weeks. We still don’t know.
“So we’re watching games in Europe. We’re looking at targets. not really knowing what the criteria would be. At one point, it was going to be changed to be under 23s only.
“We still don’t know whether that will be in place.”
One of the benefits of wrapping up promotion in Easter is the extra month it gives us to plan recruitment for the Championship, and the lack of guidance on ESC slots has seemingly taken part of that advantage away. As Jez explained, it’s a situation that may be resolved, but right now, it is not conducive to strong preparation.
“So, yeah, it’s really, really unhelpful, to be honest, that we haven’t got something more definitive from the authorities.
“But until we’re told not, we plan for four. We look at options. But we’re not wedded to have to fill those places.
“We might be aware of players that will become available under ESC rules in January, and we might leave a place open, and we’re only trying to sign those players. It’s not an ego trip.”
While Championship clubs have many players from across the world, from Yūki Ōhashi and Ryōya Morishita at Blackburn, to Othmane Maamma and Mamadou Doumbia at Watford, we won’t simply be signing names that feel more ‘top seven divisions in the world’.
“It is only if we think the player can add value and the cost of the player will be less in that market than the domestic market.
“So I guess most players would look at Ivan and think, OK, he’s added to us. The cost that Ivan would have been in terms of wages and fee would have just been prohibitive in our market.
“But it has to be wise because we certainly can’t sign players because we want exotic squad or we want to look like we’ve justified the expenses claims to different parts of Europe
“We have to get it right.”
That means balanced recruitment, and only signing players we feel might have incremental value, offer a return on investment and, crucially, fit right into the Lincoln City 206/27 Championship squad.
Whether that is via two ESC slots or four, remains to be seen.
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