3. Who are you most nervous about losing in the January window?
Deji Elerewe would be the big one in terms of his ceiling, because it’s so high. But the way we’ve built the squad means we would be fairly well protected if he went. We’ve still got Tom Hamer to come back in, alongside Ryley Towler, Sonny Bradley and Andrei Coubis.
From what I’ve seen of Deji, I honestly think somebody could put £7 million, £8 million or £9 million on the table. If he continues playing like this for another 12 months, that could go even higher. He’s got pace, poise and power, he’s good on the ball, his distribution is good, he’s good in the air and he’s tactically good. He’s an absolute monster.
I’d be nervous about losing him because of his impact, but we’d still have those other defenders and almost certainly somebody we’d scouted as a replacement. We talk a lot about recruitment, and a couple of years ago I fell out with somebody who said that for every good signing, there were five bad ones. I don’t think that’s the case at all.
Look at our defensive line. We signed a veteran in Sonny Bradley, Ryley Towler hadn’t quite made it in the Championship, and Tom Hamer had been cast aside in League One. We got Andrei Coubis in as an ESC player when previously we wouldn’t have been able to sign him through that route. Our transfer record has, in reality, been solid.
Would I be nervous about losing Deji because of what he could achieve? Yes, but would I be nervous about what it would do to the squad? I’m not so sure.
At the minute, the player I’d be most concerned about losing is Freddie Draper. I think Fred offers something completely different, and while Mikkel Ladefoged is getting up to speed, he’s our traditional, hardcore, balls-out number nine. He’s doing a tremendous job.
He’s got two goals in three games, and in the other one he gets man of the match anyway, despite not scoring, because he wins the penalty. He’s more than just a handful. In my opinion, he’s unique, and Ben House is similar in terms of offering us something very specific.
Those are the two whose departures would worry me most because what they offer has been coached into them and developed. It’s very particular to us and fits what we need. With Fred, you might get a couple of million pounds, whereas I don’t think anybody is going to pay £1 million for Ben House.
That’s no disrespect to Ben, because what he does fits us so well. Teams in the Championship that press high and do so much of their work out of possession are relatively rare, with most preferring to have the ball. Whether they could accommodate Ben in the same way, I’m not entirely sure. I’m therefore not particularly worried about him leaving, which makes Freddie my answer.
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