Reasons why Lincoln City Are likely To sign the Stoke City Man after deal to sign the veteran was finalized
With all but one EFL game now concluded, it’s fair to say eyes have shifted to transfers, and the rebuilding of squads.
One side that won’t have to do too much rebuilding are Lincoln City. They missed out on the play-offs in League One on the final day of the season, but retain the nucleus of the squad that came so near, and yet so far.
Yesterday, journalist Pete O’Rourke linked them with a move for 27-year-old Theo Vassell, the former Stoke City youth currently with Salford City in League Two. The defender has played more than 100 times for Salford, and is someone they’re hoping to keep at the Peninsula Stadium.
However, they may have competition. O’Rourke suggests Notts County, a fellow League Two side, are interested, as are recently-promoted rivals Mansfield Town. Those two moves certainly seem realistic, but Lincoln City were also mentioned. The Imps will likely sign a defender or two; TJ Eyoma has recently been released and loanee Alex Mitchell returned to Millwall, meaning they are a couple short.
However, it doesn’t feel like a move for Vassell is one the Imps would target. The former Port Vale and Wrexham man might have had a decent season for struggling Salford, but here are three reasons his next move is unlikely to be to the LNER Stadium and Michael Skubala’s Imps.
Firstly, the Imps have to be interested in the player first, and there’s a sense here that we could be looking at the ‘rule of three’. If three (or more) clubs are credited with an interest in a player, then the story’s origins have to be questioned. Where would a journalist get that from, if not the agent or a player’s representative?
Therefore, this might not be such a solid rumour. If it’s being done to drum up interest, then a name like Lincoln might be dropped to tempt other, similar-sized clubs, to express their interest. If the rumour was just Lincoln, or two clubs in the same situation, it might have more veracity, but one League Two club likely to challenge for promotion, one League One club recently promoted and another fighting at the top end of the table? It feels a little too generic.
Last season, Lincoln City made nine permanent signings, all of whom were 26 or under. Of those, only one was actually 26 – Tyler Walker, who came out of the league above, not below. Two seasons ago, they signed seven players permanently, and whilst two did come from the league below, the oldest of those (at the time) was 25-year-old Charles Vernam. Theo Vassell just doesn’t fit the age profile the Imps have leaned towards in the past.
As well as age, there are other characteristics the Imps tend to lean towards. They like players coming out of good academies, such as Lasse Sorensen (like Vassell out of the Stoke setup, albeit much more recently), Tayo Edun and Anthony Scully. They look for young players they can develop and mould, such as Jay Benn, Zak Bradshaw and Dylan Duffy. There’s one eye on resale, with players they hope they can shift at a profit (or fans hope they don’t) such as Ethan Erhahon.
