Transfer windows are notoriously difficult to assess when they close, not just for Lincoln City but for all clubs. The real measure of any recruitment drive tends to come six or 12 months later, once the initial excitement has faded and the players involved have had time to make their mark.
There was plenty of optimism around Lincoln City’s 2025/26 business when Dexter Lembikisa, Justin Obikwu, Finley Barbrook and Frankie Okoronkwo arrived. With the greatest respect to all four, none went on to play a particularly significant role in the promotion campaign. Obikwu contributed at times, but the window ultimately proved more functional than transformative.
That does not mean the recruitment was poor. It simply illustrates the danger of declaring any window a triumph before the players have kicked a ball. The same applies this summer. There are encouraging signs, but the true verdict will only emerge over the coming months.
Did The Lincoln City Squad Improve?
The simplest way to assess the window is to compare the permanent squad City finished last season with against the group now available to Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw.
Four permanent players have left, and four have arrived. Erik Ring, JJ McKiernan, Jack Moylan and Adam Jackson have departed, while Callum Elder, Andrei Coubiș, Mikkel Ladefoged and Daniel Oyegoke have come through the door.
Are the four arrivals collectively better than the four departures? I think the answer has to be yes.
There are no perfect comparisons because the players occupy different positions and offer different qualities. However, Coubiș is a young Romanian international signed for a significant fee, while Jackson made only a handful of appearances last season and was clearly approaching the end of his time with City. That is not intended as a criticism of Jacko, who was a tremendous servant, but it demonstrates how the squad has evolved.
Elder can reasonably be compared with Ring because both operate on the left. Ring arrived with potential but struggled to establish himself, whereas Elder is an experienced Championship defender who has already shown the composure and reliability he can bring.
That leaves Ladefoged and Oyegoke against Moylan and McKiernan. Again, they are completely different players. Moylan was instrumental in winning promotion and became the club’s record sale, while Ladefoged arrived as our record signing. One is an unpredictable attacking midfielder and the other is a towering centre-forward, so a direct comparison is almost impossible.
Oyegoke and McKiernan are easier to assess in terms of their respective career trajectories. Oyegoke has arrived from Hellas Verona after playing in Serie A, while McKiernan struggled to force his way into the City side and has moved to a lower-end League One outfit. On paper, the former represents a clear improvement.
Losing Moylan undoubtedly weakened us in one particular area. We know what he can do, and he has already started scoring for Cardiff City. Ideally, we would have kept him, but clubs such as Lincoln have to trade players. A reported fee of around £3 million, potentially rising to £5 million, is difficult to refuse, particularly when City retain a future interest in him. If Moylan eventually leaves Cardiff for £10 million, for example, there could be another significant payday. That does not make losing him any more enjoyable, but it is part of the model.
The wider question is whether City have improved enough. Becoming better than the squad which collected 103 points in League One would be sufficient if we were still playing at that level. The Championship demands a much greater leap. Only time will provide a definitive answer, but we have replaced what we lost and added greater numbers, athleticism, experience and potential.
On that basis, the squad is stronger than it was in May.
Permanent Signings
City’s permanent recruitment has been a combination of proactive planning and reacting quickly to changing circumstances. There were players we wanted but did not get. Jez George has spoken about missing out on Oumar Diakité, while Barney Stewart and Luke Graham were also targets. I am less convinced that City necessarily missed out on Tyrese Shade, rather than making a decision to pursue another route.
Missing targets is part of recruitment, particularly after promotion into the Championship. City are suddenly competing with clubs capable of paying significantly higher wages and transfer fees. The important thing is having alternative options and being able to move quickly when circumstances change.
Elder looks like a particularly sensible addition. He is proven at this level, can play on the left of a back three or as a wing-back, and gives City experience in an area where we needed cover. Josh Honohan can also operate there, while Adam Reach has already demonstrated his versatility.
Coubiș appears to be a signing made with both the present and future in mind. He is athletic, aggressive and capable of playing as a right-sided centre-back or wing-back. With Sonny Bradley in the latter stages of his career, City needed to begin planning for the long term in central defence. Coubiș looks capable of becoming a major asset.
The jury will naturally remain out on Ladefoged, as it will with all new signings, I suppose, until we have seen more of him, but he fits the profile many expected City to pursue. He is 6ft 8in, scored regularly in Sweden and offers something completely different. His presence should add another dimension to the way we attack rather than simply replacing an existing player with a similar one.
Oyegoke is perhaps the most interesting permanent signing because his arrival showed how quickly City could react to Tendayi Darikwa’s serious injury. Going into the season without another specialist option on the right would have been dangerous. Coubiș can play at right wing-back, but he appears to have been signed primarily as a right-sided centre-back. Dom Jefferies has been used there, although he is still adapting to Championship football, while Shamrock Rovers supporters generally felt Honohan was more comfortable on the left.
Once Darikwa was injured, there was no prolonged period of uncertainty. City identified Oyegoke and completed a deal for a player who had been with Hellas Verona and appeared in Serie A. It was reminiscent of the way the club reacted when Obikwu was recalled last season, quickly bringing in Alfie Lloyd. Huge respect to the club for being both reactive and proactive over the summer.
Recruitment will never produce a perfect success rate. Ring and McKiernan demonstrate that some signings will not work out as hoped. The ability to recognise that, move players on and have contingencies ready is every bit as important as getting every first choice through the door.
Exits
Three of the four permanent departures were players many supporters would have expected to leave. Ring and McKiernan arrived with high hopes, but neither established himself and that happens in recruitment. The positive is that, as I understand it, City recouped fees for both. We took chances on players with potential, recognised when those moves had not worked and moved them on without simply writing off the investment.
McKiernan could go to Bromley, excel and earn himself a move back into the Championship. Ring may flourish elsewhere. If that happens, it will not necessarily mean City made the wrong decision. Sometimes a player and a club are simply not the right fit at a particular moment.
Adam Jackson’s departure was handled in the Lincoln City way. He had become one of the players most likely to drop out of the squad as its overall standard increased, but that should not diminish what he gave the club. He was a dependable defender, a popular figure and a strong professional.
City allowing him to continue training with the group while he looks for another club reflects well on everyone involved. There was no acrimony and no attempt to pretend his contribution had not mattered. His time here had simply reached its natural conclusion.
Moylan was the departure nobody wanted, but probably the one everybody understood. He was one of our best players, played a major role in promotion and possessed the sort of creativity that is extremely difficult to replace directly.
The fee changes the conversation. Lincoln cannot turn down that sort of money without risking the sustainability of the model which has helped take us into the Championship. The proceeds have enabled the club to invest in players such as Coubiș and Ladefoged while potentially retaining an interest in Moylan’s future development.
James Collins has also left on loan after his injury interrupted his time with City. That move gives him an opportunity to play regularly while freeing space within a squad which now contains several younger attacking options. Moylan aside, I don’t think anyone can really question the departures from the squad.
Loan Signings
The six loans are the elephant in the room. It is not an ideal situation because only five can be named in a matchday squad, meaning somebody will always miss out when everyone is available.
I think if the recruitment team were able to replay the window with full knowledge of the players who became available near the deadline, I suspect they would do things differently. It is possible that one of Mason Melia, Tanto Olaofe or Ethan Wheatley would be elsewhere. Potentially, City might only have signed one of them before waiting to see what emerged later.
That is not a criticism of those players; it is simply the reality of how the market developed. Chiedozie Ogbene represents the proven Championship quality and unpredictability City needed, but there was no guarantee somebody of his calibre would become available when the earlier loan deals were completed.
The fairest comparison is with the loan players who left after last season, rather than the young City players who have now gone elsewhere to gain experience. Zane Okoro, Oisin Gallagher and Oscar Thorn have been loaned out to develop and accrue value. City were not searching for incoming loans merely to replace them.
Joe Gauci and Zach Jeacock are broadly comparable in terms of their immediate role. I would not be completely comfortable with either beginning the season as our first-choice Championship goalkeeper, but Jeacock is City’s asset and now has the opportunity to play regularly. Gauci provides temporary cover while potentially using his spell here to impress future employers.
In midfield, Yunus Konak should represent a significant improvement on Kamil Conteh’s contribution during the promotion run. Conteh played his part, just, but Konak looks capable of making 30 appearances if his loan is extended beyond January. He has already demonstrated the technical quality and composure required at this level.
The attacking comparison is Alfie Lloyd and Ryan Oné against Melia, Olaofe, Wheatley and Ogbene. City have twice as many options and, collectively, a higher level of proven quality.
Olaofe is Championship-ready and perhaps offers the closest comparison with Lloyd. Ogbene brings experience at this level and above, making him a clear upgrade on what One was able to offer last season. That effectively leaves Melia and Wheatley as additional options rather than direct replacements.
Melia’s situation requires patience. He is 18 and has experienced a remarkable amount of change in a short period. He went from playing senior football for St Patrick’s Athletic to joining Tottenham Hotspur, training and travelling with elite players, and then moving into another completely different environment at Lincoln. At St Pat’s, he was an outstanding young player in a senior league. At Tottenham, he had to adapt to youth football and the opulent surroundings of a Premier League club. Now he is being asked to return to the senior game in the Championship, playing in a different system for another new coaching staff.
That is a huge amount for any 18-year-old to process. The ridiculous social media rumours about attitude problems and an early termination of his loan, appearing only a few games into the season, have not helped.
Of Melia, Olaofe and Wheatley, I believe Melia has the highest ceiling. Olaofe is probably the most ready to contribute immediately, but he may already be close to his natural level unless he produces something exceptional during his time here. Wheatley remains a Manchester United player and has obvious potential, although the reports from his previous loan at Bradford City were mixed.
Perhaps, with hindsight, City might have taken a permanent gamble on Shade rather than borrowing Wheatley. Perhaps they would have delayed the Olaofe move if they had known Ogbene would become available. Those are questions which can only be asked after the event.
This was the recruitment team’s first Championship transfer window. The market moves differently at this level, particularly during the final days, and Jez’s comments suggested everything did not unfold exactly as planned. Even so, City have emerged with a squad containing greater depth, more experience and considerably more athleticism.
The most encouraging point is that we have barely seen the new players in the league. Elder and Coubiș are among the few summer arrivals to have started, while Ladefoged, Oyegoke, Melia, Olaofe, Konak, Wheatley and Ogbene have either made limited appearances or are still waiting for their first Championship start.
In that sense, the City sides we saw against Blackburn Rovers and Southampton could almost be described as the least developed versions of this team. If that group is already taking points, competing with established Championship clubs and attracting attention for upsetting the form book, there should be more to come.
Overall, this was not a perfect transfer window. City missed targets, accumulated one loan too many and probably made some decisions earlier in the summer that they would reconsider with the benefit of hindsight.
However, the club reacted well when plans changed. The permanent squad is younger, more athletic and more valuable, while the loan additions provide Championship experience, international quality and considerable potential.
We will not know whether it was a genuinely successful window until Christmas at the earliest, and perhaps not until the end of the season. For a recruitment team navigating the Championship market for the first time, though, it looks like a decent piece of work and one which has given Lincoln City a realistic opportunity to compete.
Comments Welcome!