Port Vale 23-24 season squad preview – the forwards
Oh yes, the much talking about forward positions… Rob Fielding reviews the club’s summer transfer moves in the forward department…
Transfers
Outs:
James Wilson (released), Jamie Proctor (released), Dennis Politic (end of loan), Mipu Odubeko (end of loan), Danny Butterworth (end of loan)
Ins:
James Wilson (trial)
Analysis
Now bear with us as we list the numerous forward additions the Valiants have brought in over the summer months. Oh, hang on…
It’s been the area of the team which has been dominating summer transfer talk mainly because (at time of writing) Vale have one contracted central forward in Ellis Harrison, one other versatile forward in James Plant and well, that’s it… It’s perhaps not surprising that the question is – where are the goals going to come from?
Harrison was a success last season but his campaign wasn’t without spells out injured, so he clearly needs cover and competition. It may come in the surprising form of James Wilson, who left the club at the end of last season but who has returned on a trial basis. A fit Wilson would be a no brainer addition but there’s the issue. The former Salford man has been hit by injury after injury and as a result last season was a damp squib. Vale can’t afford to carry any players, regardless of the sentiment towards the locally born player, and surely should only opt for Wilson if he can prove his fitness.
It means there’s currently a huge gap in the squad in the form of one, probably two central forward additions. Manager Andy Crosby admits that the side have missed out on a couple of targets and while it would be a big enough blow to start the season without any forward additions, it would be an absolute disaster to exit the transfer window without any fresh additions.
And so onto the good news. The rapid progress of youngster James Plant at the end of last season was a welcome bonus. The versatile youth team graduate can play in multiple positions but he may be at his best as part of a front three, albeit not as the central forward. It will be interesting to chart Plant’s progress this campaign as he looks to have a bright future.
The verdict…
Without a doubt, the failure to bring in forwards has been the low point of the summer recruitment. All this may change in the blink of an eye with (hopefully) a couple of classy additions but right now we can only rate the business on what has been achieved at time of writing – and that is nothing.
Rating
F