Can Walsall new boy Tommy Simkin emulate Jackson Smith?

Express & Star

Jonny Drury and George Bennett sat down to discuss the departure of Jackson Smith - who has turned down the offer of a new deal at Walsall in favour of a move to Barnsley. Smith was offered a new deal at the end of the season - but it was confirmed this week he has joined The Tykes. George looks at the hole is departure leaves at the Bescot - and whether loanee Tommy Simkin can step straight into his shoes?

Transcript

00:00George, the news come through this week that Jackson Smith has left Walsall. He had a new

00:12contract on the table, but he's gone to Barnsley, signed a four-year deal. The club have agreed

00:18a compensation package on that. A big blow, obviously Tommy Simpkins has come in, Owen

00:26Evans has been released. There's a lot of positions this season, there's some big calls

00:31to be made by Walsall, but it seems like the goalkeeping area, somewhere where they were

00:37kind of quite strong last season, is going to be a big area to sort of sort out, given

00:42the fact that Jackson Smith has now departed.

00:45Yeah, I remember saying at the end of the season, with the fact that Evans and Smith

00:51were both out of contract, they were very much in a situation where they couldn't keep

00:55both of them, and unfortunately it's proven that both of them have now gone, though, and

01:01Evans has gone on to join the lead two rivals. Shelton and Town were returned to the club

01:06there, reunited with Michael Flynn, and with Jackson Smith's form during the second half

01:13of the season, there was always that fear that vultures would circle and he would be

01:20kind of prized away from the best scot, which has unfortunately proven the case. He was

01:26offered a deal at the end of May, but Barnsley would be a club fighting for promotion to

01:33the championship next season under another former Walsall boss in Daryl Clarke, and a

01:39four-year deal with an option for another year is a great prospect for him, a chance

01:44to challenge himself at a higher level, and yeah, he was very important for Walsall once

01:51he was introduced towards the end of November. He arrived initially on loan from Wolves during

02:00the January transfer window of the previous campaign, had to bide his time as understudy

02:05to Owen Evans, came in for the final two games due to an injury, or came off the bench, sorry,

02:09in the penultimate game against Crawley the season prior, and then signed permanently

02:16last summer, and again, he was very much behind Owen Evans in the pecking order, had to bide

02:22his time, showed a great attitude throughout that whole period, and that left him in good

02:28stead when he did get his opportunity, and there was a game against him actually, one

02:32that many Walsall fans would like to forget a goalless draw, but I remember one of the

02:37Alfredton defenders, probably one of the longest throws I've ever seen, very much reminiscent

02:41of Rory de Lapp, and Jackson Smith was promising that night, commanded his box well, and although

02:49it was maybe not a performance necessarily right home about, you just got the sense that

02:53maybe there's a goalkeeper there that's got a bit of confidence by himself, and he showed

02:57that over the Christmas period. Walsall had five wins in six, dropped back out towards

03:02the end of January, but then came back in for that run where Walsall registered five

03:06successive wins, actually kept Walsall's first away clean sheet, only away clean sheet

03:11of the season, and there were some crucial saves in there, I remember the Mansfield game,

03:16there was a save towards the end that Walsall don't get that three points if he hasn't made

03:19that save, a penalty save against Colchester in a draw, so 30 appearances for him last

03:26season, ended up winning the Young Player of the Year, so clearly someone who can be

03:30regarded as a success for Walsall, and it's good that they've got a compensation package

03:35out of him because it would have been really disappointing to have lost him on a three

03:38altogether.

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