Zach Jeacock is set to join Northampton Town on loan for the 26/27 season, and it’s a move I suspect comes out of us being promoted.
The 25-year-old has proven himself to be a decent keeper, appearing in the cups last season against the likes of Chelsea and Huddersfield, and looking strong. A loan at Southend the year before was cut short through necessity, and he played well in League One over a period of time as well.
He’s a good keeper, and he penned a new deal last season with a view to being our number one long term. In the past, if a player got to this age and hadn’t dislodged the current number one, maybe we’d look at a move, as we did with Jordan Wright. I don’t think that is the plan with Zach.
Firstly, 25 is young for a keeper. Alex Palmer joined us at 24, after a full season in League Two, and smashed it. He went on to play in the Premier League, but prior to his League Two spell, he had nothing but non-league loans. If a midfielder gets to 25 and hasn’t broken through, sure, it might be time to move, but a keeper’s timeline is different, and Jeacock could still be playing at 36 at the top of his game.
I suspect this move has been forced, a little, by our promotion. He signed the deal in November, just a few days before we lost our last game of the season against Wycombe. At that stage, play-offs looked aspirational, so it feels like we might have planned for League One and Wickens’ move. Now? The future looks different.
Picture the scene: we don’t go up, perhaps we lose in the play-offs, but we’ve had a decent campaign. That’s crucial to remember – if we’d finished top six and gone out in the semi-finals, we’d have thought that was a great season. Michael Skubala moves on, and when he does, Wickens is prime for a move. Of course, he would be, if we were League One, Championship clubs would have something to offer him.
With us going up, I think we’re likely to retain our key players, including Wickens, which means no chances for Jeacock, especially at a higher level. If we stayed down, I could see a world where Wickens was sold, and then Zach steps up. Players such as Sean Long have been similar victims of circumstance in the past, that’s just football.
Why not a League One loan? A good question, for sure. If Zach were to get a League One loan, my best guess would be bottom half, as anywhere above that can probably get hold of Premier League youngsters. Do we want him at a team getting a spanking every game, or in a team where goals get conceded and he might be questioned? No. He goes to Northampton Town, a side you’d hope are on the up and likely to be top six, and he gets the taste of being in a successful, settled side.
There is also the issue of minutes. I believe Zach Jeacock, right now, is a decent League One keeper. If he goes to a League One side, will he get as many minutes? At a League Two side, on loan from the Championship and clearly a big, imposing figure, you’d be expecting regular minutes. The ideal scenario is 46 games and a title win or promotion.
What does the future hold at Lincoln City? I think as a realist, you have to say Zach’s future is very much in the hands of the football Gods. If he goes to Northampton and is a behemoth, keeping 25 clean sheets as they clean up, maybe there is a step up to the Championship for him, but I think his future is dictated by how we do, as much as how he does, even if he is a success.
If we stay in the Championship, then no matter what happens, I think it is a big ask for him to come back as our number one. He would have to be outstanding to jump League One and come straight in. If we do stay up, Wickens either stays, or we sell him on and recruit, that’s my opinion. That’s no disrespect to Zach at all, but 46 games in League Two will prove him League One standard, but not Championship.
In that event, there are three options. We believe in Zach, clearly, so at that point, we may think about a League One loan, we may think about bringing him back to challenge whoever replaces Wickens, or we may cash in. By loaning him to League Two and saying ‘over to you’, we’re giving him the chance to shine, be it for his Lincoln City future or, if we’re ridiculously successful, for his own long-term prospects.
If we come straight back down, then I see Wickens moving on, and then Zach is in prime position to take the throne he has been promised. In the event of relegation, we should be getting a keeper back with 40+ games in a top-end League Two side, ready for the step up to League One.
Either way, his task is simple. Go to Northampton. Be number one. Make a name for yourself. What happens at Sincil Bank is out of his control, and as Danny and Nicky used to say, and Michael Skubala, only worry about what you can control. Whatever else happens, you have to give yourself the best chance of success under any and all circumstances.
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