Lincoln City will hope to avoid repeat of 2021 disappointment despite Doncaster Rovers joy | OneFootball

The Imps were ultimately let down by this transfer in 2021.

Lincoln City will hope to avoid a repeat of one disappointing transfer when they come to assessing targets in January.

The Imps were ultimately let down by the transfer of Hakeeb Adelakun, after he originally signed on the dotted line in 2021.

Hakeeb Adelakun transfer did not work out

The now 28-year-old winger spent time on loan at Gillingham during his stint at Lincoln City, and looked to be on the way out last summer.

However, even though he was left without a squad number for the start of the 2023/24 season, Adelakun did not find a new home.

Overall, he played 56 games for Lincoln, scoring just seven goals and notching four assists along the way.

In an unlikely turn of events, he found his way back into the Imps team last season. A pile-up of injuries left then-manager Mark Kennedy with very few attacking options.

He ended up playing 19 games that season, starting ten in Sky Bet League One. The forward even netted a brace against former Imps manager Michael Appleton, who he seemingly made a point of celebrating in front of.

Despite an unlikely redemption that has left positive memories at Lincoln, Adelakun was a failed transfer. He never got going at the LNER Stadium, and impressed most on loan in the division below.

Adelakun success on loan at Doncaster Rovers

The winger moved to Grant McCann’s Doncaster Rovers in the January of 2024, and was part of the team that miraculously rose from being relegation-threatened to being in the play-off places.

Adelakun beat his entire Lincoln goalscoring tally, netting nine League Two goals in just 21 games. He provided seven assists too, leaving him with an impressive total of 16 goal contributions at the end of his loan spell.

McCann had managed Adelakun back in his days at Hull City, and knew how to get the best out of a winger who was revitalised in a position where he had the freedom to express himself, provide a burst of trickery, and stunt League Two defences.

It may have seemed odd to Lincoln fans that Adelakun moved on and immediately hit the ground running. Though, perhaps Lincolnshire was just never the place for him.

He looked at home in a Doncaster team that was in red-hot form, playing attacking football and providing an outlet for Adelakun to play without rigid instruction. He was a free spirit in McCann’s machine.

Adelakun has moved on

Ultimately, Doncaster missed out in a tense play-off semi-final with Crewe Alexandra, with Adelakun missing the decisive spot-kick in the penalty shootout.

He turned down a deal with the South Yorkshire club in the summer, and instead landed an eventual move to fellow-League Two outfit Salford City. So far, Adelakun has played just four times for the Class of 92 backed side.

He has continued his form from the other side of the Pennines though, scoring twice and providing a singular assist.

For Adelakun at Lincoln, it just never worked out and, whilst his other clubs might view him in a different light, he will always be remembered as a transfer that the Imps will not want to repeat in the January window or beyond.