Stockport County should move for Barnsley & Lincoln City striker target - he could soften Nathan Lowe blow | OneFootball

Stockport County should rival Barnsley and Lincoln City for Swansea City striker Bobby Wales in the January transfer window.

Stockport County find themselves in an excellent position to push on for a top two finish and automatic promotion from League One in the final few months of this campaign.

The Hatters have an excellent squad that has been worked on and developed over a number of years with Dave Challinor, but there is room for another attacker to bolster the ranks and a move for Swansea City man Bobby Wales is one that should be considered.

Following a play-off semi-final loss to Leyton Orient at the back end of last season, Stockport have re-emerged as a promotion contender once again, continuing the perpetual upward trajectory of the Challinor era.

Performances haven't quite been as strong as last season, but the Hatters' expectations have risen and so, simply dealing with has become a slight issue, albeit not big enough of an issue to halt or prevent any sort of promotion push.

They have already been active in the January transfer window with the addition of attacking midfielder Josh Stokes on loan from Bristol City as well as the permanent signing of right-back Josh Dacres-Cogley from Bolton Wanderers.

It wouldn't be a surprise to see Stockport dip back into the market once again to try and push themselves over the line and a move for Wales may well be a smart move for County to make.

Stockport County should rival Barnsley and Lincoln for Swansea man Bobby Wales

Following his move from Kilmarnock in the summer, Bobby Wales has remained on the periphery of things at the Swansea.com Stadium, struggling for game time under both Alan Sheehan and then Vitor Matos.

The Jacks’ striker has managed just four appearances, all short ones from off the bench, in the Championship this season, despite scoring and providing an assist on debut back in August in a 3-1 defeat of League Two side Crawley Town in the first round of the EFL Cup.

Swansea do have an abundance of attacking options and so it has been reported that the 20-year-old Scotland U21 international could be allowed to depart South Wales on a loan deal.

It was reported back in October that Stockport’s League One rivals Barnsley and Lincoln City - the latter currently sitting in the top two and the automatic promotion spots - held an interest in the attacker ahead of the January transfer window open.

And whilst it's unclear if both clubs are still keen on signing the Scotland youth international, Stockport should be in the market for a striker in this window and Wales is someone that County should be looking to bring to Edgeley Park.

The reason he got his move down from Kilmarnock to Swansea in the summer, as a highly-rated youngster, is because of the performances he put in for Killie last season at such a young age.

Having shone for Alloa Athletic while on loan from Kilmarnock in the 2023/24 season, he returned to the first-team fold at Rugby Park and went on to establish himself as a key cog up in the Scottish Premiership.

Just six months ago, Wales was deemed to be so rated that he was a starter for a team that had been in Europe the previous campaign and earned himself a move to the Championship, and if available, Stockport should be ready to pounce.

Bobby Wales could provide Stockport County what Stoke City's Nathan Lowe could not

The reason as to why Stockport should be looking at strengthening in the final third of the pitch is because their loanee from the summer, Nathan Lowe, has returned to his parent club Stoke City.

It is the second successive season in which Lowe has had his loan from Stoke cut short but, unlike due to being an unmitigated success with Walsall in League Two last year, this one is because of Lowe struggling with injury at Edgeley Park.

That injury may be a bit of a blessing in disguise for the Hatters, with the 20-year-old returning to Stoke to complete his rehabilitation after an injury sustained on Boxing Day against Lincoln, following what had been an underwhelming opening few months to his time of it in Cheshire.

Many supporters were critical of a lack of mobility and pace from Lowe, especially an issue when trying to play alongside experienced and crucial target man Kyle Wootton, himself not necessarily famed for his speed.

A bit more mobility in the final third, like when Stockport flourished with Louie Barry at the club in the first-half of last season, would be welcomed by Challinor for the final few months of the season.

Wales is someone who should be able to provide that, having burst into the Kilmarnock first-team setup for his ability to get in behind and stretch defences, demonstrating attributes that would be ideal for Stockport and perhaps what they lacked with Lowe.