Ben House and Tyler Walker are presently out for the foreseeable future due to injuries, leaving Lincoln City with a front line injury issue. If the club is forced to resort to the free agency market, who may they try to sign?
Without no established striker in the starting lineup against Carlisle United on Saturday, winger Reeco Hackett led the charge for the Imps. However, Lincoln were still managed to salvage a point thanks to Ethan Hamilton’s excellent goal after Luke Plange given the visitors the lead despite House and Walker’s injuries.
With a point, Lincoln City would move up to ninth position in League One and remain undefeated after their previous six league games. This season, the team has only lost one game overall, which was on the first weekend of the football season.
Nevertheless, despite Mark Kennedy’s team having a solid start to the year, Lincoln does have certain weaknesses in their team that the organisation is eager to address, one of which is goals. Lincoln have had nine different league goal scorers so far this season, none of them have been a striker, therefore scoring goals hasn’t been a problem for the team.
Lincoln City could be interested in having someone who can grab a game by the scruff of the neck and contribute while the rest of the club is failing to create opportunities, even if I think that having numerous scorers is preferable than having one primary player.
After a lengthy injury, Jack Vale, a loanee from Lincoln City, “isn’t too far away” from joining the team, but the Imps are noticeably lacking in the attacking department with Tyler Walker out for at least eight weeks, Ben House out for three to five months, and Freddie Draper not eligible to be recalled until January.
Having said that, let’s look at five players who Lincoln City may sign to replace the injured trio.
Craig Wickham
Former Crystal Palace attacker Connor Wickham, who left Championship team Cardiff City in June when his short-term agreement ended, is arguably one of the biggest free agents now in the EFL.
Over 300 of Wickham’s first-team appearances have been in either the Premier League or the Championship, accounting for nearly 250 of them. He started the 2022–23 season with League One’s Forest Green Rovers, where he made 16 appearances and scored six goals, including one against Lincoln in a 1–1 tie.
The 30-year-old is still looking for a club as of this writing and will undoubtedly be at the top of the list if Mark Kennedy’s team decides to look at the free agent market. He also meets the requirements for a player who can change a game on his own, but would he be the perfect fit for the Imps?
Shadipo Olamide
Although Olamide Shodipo isn’t a striker, he would give Mark Kennedy the chance to continue playing Reeco Hackett in that position. Shodipo left Championship team Queens Park Rangers in July, becoming a free agent.
Since the 26-year-old spent the second part of the 2022–23 season with the League One team, where he made 20 appearances and contributed to four goals, or one per five games, he will also be a familiar figure to Imps fans.
Shodipo is well-versed in the club’s operations and is probably aware with Mark Kennedy’s strategy. Shodipo, a center-forward, had two first-team outings for the squad, according to TransferMarkt, where he scored two goals. However, did he perform well enough to merit a roster spot?
Winnall, Sam
Returning to the experienced side of things, Sam Winnall is another name that Lincoln City may look to explore, even if it’s just as a temporary solution until January, should the team be in the market to add an additional forward.
Winnall left fellow League One team Burton Albion in July, at which point he became a free agent. The 32-year-old has had a highly successful career, scoring an average of almost one goal per three games in the third division while playing for teams like Sheffield Wednesday, Barnsley, and Oxford United.
A short-term contract could be ideal for the striker, who scored six goals in 20 games last season and seven the season before. Given his age, experience, and goal-scoring ability
Jeremy Eppiah
Mark Kennedy and his recruiting staff may decide to pursue a forward reinforcement between now and the January transfer window if they chose to look at a younger alternative, such as former Leicester City striker Josh Eppiah.
The 24-year-old spent the previous 18 months at Northampton Town, a League One rival, and contributed five goals in 35 appearances across all competitions, or one goal per seven games, to help them achieve promotion back to the third tier last season.
Eppiah is mostly a striker, although he can also play on the left or right flank, increasing his versatility and enhancing Mark Kennedy’s offensive options. He may also be available for a fair salary, increasing the likelihood that
Can Bapaga
The club is expected to seek young players who have been released from Premier League or Championship teams, and after keeping an eye on Lincoln’s recent transactions, they may contemplate a move for 20-year-old Will Bapaga.
Coventry City released the winger in June because they wanted him to play first-team football somewhere. Bapaga has played for rivals Grimsby Town in the Championship, League One, and National League, where he scored his first goals of his professional career.
Bapaga is a winger by nature, but with Coventry City’s U21s, he has played and scored as a striker. Bapaga, like Shodipo, would enable manager Mark Kennedy to decide between retaining Hackett in the striker position and encouraging a player like Bapaga to operate.
