Football Season Guide

Lincoln City

In


Josh Griffiths (Goalkeeper, West Bromwich Albion, Season-long loan); Hakeeb Adelakun (Midfielder, Bristol City); Lasse Sorensen (Midfielder, Stoke City, Season-long loan); Lewis Fiorini (Midfielder, Manchester City, Season-long loan); Teddy Bishop (Midfielder, Ipswich Town); Chris Maguire (Attacker, Sunderland); Dan Nlundulu (Attacker, Southampton, Season-long loan)

Out


Alex Palmer (r) (Goalkeeper, West Bromwich Albion, Loan ended); Ethan Ross (Goalkeeper, released); Timothy Eyoma (sp) (Defender, Tottenham Hotspur, Loan ended); Harry Anderson (sp) (Midfielder, Bristol Rovers); Jorge Grant (k) (Midfielder, Peterborough United); Theo Archibald (Midfielder, Leyton Orient, Season-long loan); Zack Elbouzedi (Attacker, Midfielder, AIK); Brennan Johnson (k) (Attacker, Nottingham Forest, Loan ended); Callum Morton (sp) (Attacker, West Bromwich Albion, Loan ended); Morgan Rogers (r) (Attacker, Manchester City, Loan ended)

Michael Appleton has made a real impression since taking over at Lincoln City and they will be looking to challenge for promotion again this season. Following in the footsteps of Imps legend Danny Cowley was a hard task but Appleton has overseen a real change in style and is almost as popular with fans, especially after guiding the Imps to the League One play-off final at Wembley. They missed out on promotion after being beaten by Blackpool and Appleton has been linked with a number of more high-profile jobs. He nevertheless remains at Sincil Bank and will be looking to rebuild his squad after a summer of departures. Several were expected with influential loanees such as strikers Brennan Johnson and Morgan Rogers returning to their parent clubs. The biggest blow however is the loss of midfield playmaker Jorge Grant, with insult added to injury by choosing to join Peterborough United, who beat them to promotion back in May. The best hope of replacing his quality is with a loanee and they will be hoping Manchester City’s Lewis Fiorini is that man. Goalkeeper Josh Griffiths will spend the season on loan from West Bromwich Albion whilst the capture of striker Chris Maguire from Sunderland looks like a shrewd addition. The Imps don’t have the money to compete with the big clubs in League One but they have one of the best managers in the division in Appleton and he will make further additions that will ensure they are competitive on the pitch.

Target


Play-offs. It will certainly be a challenge to repeat last season’s achievement but in Appleton they have the right man to pull it off.