George Bennett reviews Walsall summer transfer window

Express & Star

George Bennett sat down with Jonny Drury to review Walsall's summer transfer window. It has been a busy window for the Saddlers with a number of incomings and outgoings. George looks at the incoming players and whether the Saddlers are stronger than last season.

Transcript

00:00It's all right, mate?

00:05Yeah, yeah, all good. All good.

00:07Good stuff. Good stuff.

00:10Do you want to whack both headphones in, mate?

00:12Because you've gone a little bit quiet, to be honest.

00:14Yeah.

00:15If it'll stretch. Just speak now.

00:17Yeah, that's all good.

00:19Yeah, that's good.

00:20These headphones are a nightmare.

00:22No, that's all right, mate. It's exactly the same.

00:24Yeah.

00:25Yeah, yeah, all good, mate. Right, let's go.

00:27Three, two, one.

00:28Yep.

00:29Hello, Sadler's fans. Welcome to ExpressAndStyle.com.

00:32My name is Jonny Drew.

00:34I'm here with George Bennett to round up, really,

00:37the Walsall transfer business for the summer transfer window.

00:42It's been a busy window, as they always are for League Two

00:45and League One clubs with a high turnover of players.

00:48Started with quite a few going out the door,

00:50some they didn't quite expect to leave.

00:53But there's been some top signings,

00:55none more so than one of the latest ones to come through

00:58the door prior to the window.

00:59One in on deadline day.

01:00George, just give us a brief summing up of how you think

01:04the window's gone and how happy Matt Sadler will be

01:07with the additions that he's made.

01:09Yeah, I think the start to the season's made fans realise

01:14that the squad that Matt Sadler's put together

01:17is quite promising.

01:18I mean, just the competition for places now is quite exciting.

01:22The biggest thing was getting those centre forwards

01:25through the door.

01:26The signings of Nathan Lowe and Reyes Cleary

01:30on season-long loans look to be great business.

01:34We've not seen anything of Cleary yet,

01:36but everyone would have seen Lowe's home debut the other day

01:40with the two goals and a really impressive performance.

01:44So, you know, just from early evidence there,

01:46Walsall could have found themselves another gem

01:48on the loan market.

01:50They will say don't fall in love with a loan player,

01:52but yeah, someone who looks really exciting there.

01:55And, you know, you look at the attacking options

01:57with Adoma who's brought valuable experience, quality.

02:02Those sort of moves can sometimes be ones

02:05where a player's coming towards the end of their career.

02:08Is it going to work?

02:09There's been plenty of cases where it hasn't.

02:12It doesn't feel like that with Albert Adoma.

02:14He's really embraced his first few weeks in a Walsall shirt

02:19and the fans love him already.

02:21So another really smart signing there who also provides versatility

02:25because he can play right wing back,

02:27but he's fried in the makeshift striker role,

02:31which has just kind of increased those options.

02:34And we kind of forget that Josh Gordon was a summer signing

02:37because he was brought in permanently after his loan

02:40to come back to the club on a permanent basis.

02:42So those attacking options look really strong.

02:47And yeah, it feels like that's kind of replicated

02:50across the pitch and we'll get on to it in a minute.

02:54But today's signing feels like a marquee signing,

02:58maybe a statement signing,

02:59if you kind of consider George Hall's potential.

03:03Yeah, just moving on to George Hall and that deadline day business,

03:06which we're pretty sure is the only incoming

03:09that's going to be happening on the final day of the window.

03:12What do you make of that, George?

03:14And what is he going to bring to Walsall?

03:18Yeah, well, I sort of remember him breaking onto the scene

03:22around two years ago now,

03:24and he was being linked with high profile clubs.

03:29I mentioned it in my video that I put out on socials earlier

03:32with Southampton, Newcastle, Leeds, Brighton.

03:37You know, these names aren't linked with players for no reason.

03:40And this was around the time

03:42just before he made his breakthrough into the first team.

03:44But I think the interest with Leeds

03:46stuck right up until his breakthrough season in the championship.

03:50So clearly a player with bags of potential,

03:53two goals and six caps for England's under-19s as well,

03:5740 championship appearances.

03:59So to sign a player in that pedigree is exciting.

04:03And I know he had his injury issues last season.

04:06So Birmingham clearly see it as

04:09is Walsall going to provide him with a platform

04:12to kind of get his career back on track.

04:15It sounds wrong to say that when he's just 20,

04:17but get his career back on track

04:19and fulfill the potential that they clearly see in him.

04:22But an exciting signing,

04:24someone that will add quality and youthful energy to Walsall,

04:29a winger by trade, but he's played centrally.

04:33So you're probably expecting to play in one of those two eight slots

04:37and just provide that bit of creativity,

04:40that bit of quality,

04:42which Walsall still have an abundance in midfield,

04:44but it's another fantastic option to have

04:47and a really good signing it feels.

04:49And just finally,

04:51if you look at the squad now compared to what it was

04:53on the last day of the season,

04:55do you think they're pound for pound stronger

04:58than they were at the end of last season?

05:00I do.

05:01I feel losing Hutchinson was a major blow.

05:04I mean, just over a third of Walsall's goals

05:09he contributed to last season.

05:11That's a big void to fill.

05:15But with the attacking additions,

05:17like I mentioned with Nathan Lowe, Reyes, Cleary,

05:21there's Danny Johnson to come back,

05:24Albert Adoma, Josh Gordon, Jamil Matt,

05:29you know, hopefully Lowe can be the talisman

05:33if Tuesday night's anything to go by.

05:36But it feels like there's goals across that attack,

05:39at least from kind of a collaborative point of view.

05:43And then can Charlie Lakin come to the fore?

05:46I mean, he's settled in now

05:48and I feel like he's going to be one

05:50that will probably grow.

05:52Impressed off the bench the other night

05:54and he wasn't the only one to do that.

05:56And yeah, it just feels like the competition for places.

05:59This is very much a squad and a team effort

06:04rather than kind of, you know,

06:06relying on that individual quality.

06:08And I feel like there's strength across the pitch now.

06:11One of the biggest things was improving defensively.

06:15I mean, the goals they shipped last season,

06:1873 goals, so that was clearly something

06:21that needed to be addressed.

06:23David Akagbe has come in permanently,

06:25a really good sign in that.

06:27They look to have found a very promising

06:29young goalkeeper in Tommy Simpkin.

06:31Osher McEntee's return from injury is a major boost.

06:36Evan Weir looks another one

06:38who could potentially develop into a very good player.

06:40Impressed at left-centre back the other night.

06:42And of course, the wing-back's Conor Barrett.

06:45Could he deal with that step up to the EFL?

06:47Still early doors, but promising early signs from him.

06:50So yeah, it feels like all round,

06:53despite losing two key players

06:55in Jackson Smith and Hutchinson,

06:57Walsall's transfer business,

06:59plus the fact that they retained a strong core

07:01in a squad from last season,

07:03will lead them in good stead

07:04to really make a push this season.

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