Gareth McAuley
I’ve saved the two strongest cases until last, and Gareth McAuley would probably be my answer if I really had to narrow this down to one. A towering centre-half who went on to play Championship football for Leicester and Ipswich, followed by years in the Premier League with West Brom, he plainly could cope at this level. However, this isn’t just about identifying the former Imp with the best career and putting him in the team. McAuley had the height, 6ft 5in, the defensive quality and the threat in the opposition box, while his experience of playing at full-back for us adds another reason to think he’d be comfortable in the sort of back three we use.
The other thing with Gareth is that I can make a case for taking him at several different stages of his career. Bring over the player we had at Lincoln, and I’d fancy him to make the step; take the established Championship defender from Leicester or Ipswich, and you already know what you’re getting. The West Brom version would be an outstanding addition, and even the experienced veteran towards the end would have so much to offer.
Ainsworth might be the most obvious match for our energy and approach, but McAuley combines the physical attributes with proven quality so convincingly that I think he’d be absolutely perfect for this Lincoln City side.
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