Why Adam Reach deal may sum up Lincoln City desperation not transfer ambition | OneFootball

Transfer deadline day was an exciting one for Lincoln City fans.

Transfer deadline day was an exciting one for Lincoln City fans.

The club added four new recruits, as well as securing a loan away for one of their top young talents in Zane Okoro.

However, the enthusiam of the fresh signings may be shadowing a problem with the lateness of the Imps' recruitment.

A busy deadline day for Lincoln City

First came Fin Barbrook, with the 20-year-old central midfielder joining on a loan from Sky Bet Championship outfit Ipswich Town to kickstart what was to become a busy deadline day. He helps plug the gap left by Ethan Erhahon and Ethan Hamilton, adding to the strong core that has been developed in that area of the pitch for the Imps.

Justin Obikwu came in on a loan of his own, this time from Coventry City, while two-sided defender Dexter Lembikisa signed on the dotted line for a spell until January away from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

In Obikwu, Lincoln have another attacking option, with many of the deadline days adding a squad depth that should have been secured much earlier in the window. Lembikisa adds similar depth to the full-back areas, which has been a focus throughout the summer.

Then, Adam Reach, who is by far the most high-profile of the deadline day quartet, finally patched over the gaping hole at left-back.

The future of defensive stalwart Sean Roughan was decided very early in the window, with Huddersfield Town snapping up his services after the expiration of his contract with the Imps. It came at the cost of a hefty compensation package for the Lincoln academy success story, but more consequently left a massive gap in the City backline.

Ryan Towler, who himself joined Michael Skubala’s side this summer, has been forced to deputise in the role with a fully-fitted left-back not secured until the 11th hour of the summer transfer window.

Any concerns over the desperation of Reach’s signing, which comes on a one-year deal after his exit from League One play-off semi-finalists Wycombe Wanderers, may have been softened by a debut assist.

But, the 32-year-old has been on the market all summer long, yet only on the final day of the window did Lincoln sign the experienced wide-man. That summarises the entire point, with a slapdash cloud hanging over the late burst of action in the transfer market.

If Reach was the answer to the Roughan replacement question, then why did the move take so long to come to pass?

Why it may show desperation rather than success for Lincoln City

In that, there is at the very least the appearance of desperation, with the Imps signing a free agent when they had all summer to craft and pursue other options.

There is no doubting that the hard, and sometimes thankless, task of recruitment has seen the full attention of the backroom staff at Sincil Bank. It has been a long and busy summer, highlighted by the high-profile sales of Erhahon and, for a club-record fee, Jovon Makama.

Sonny Bradley and record signing Ivan Varfolomeyev, who comes in with the backing of international pedigree with the Ukrainian under-21s, have been significant additions to Skubala’s squad as well.

So despite the appearance of a panicked close to the window, with a string of last-minute deals to patch up the areas of the squad with little or no cover, this has been an overall success story.

The summer of 2025 will no doubt be remembered well by Imps fans for years to come, with the replacing of many top talents with marquee recruits courtesy of hefty financial boosts.

However, the nature by which Lincoln have completed their squad building could well be seen as desperate, with problems that have been clear for all to see only solved narrowly before the window slammed shut.

It may all prove to be a success, with a positive start to the season laying the foundations for a push towards the play-off places. In that sense, it may not matter how the Imps got to the position they have, only that they eventually found all the pieces for their complicated jigsaw puzzle.