Transfer Talk

The sun is out and the window is open. The always-frustratingly-timed League of Ireland transfer window opened today for the month of July. Rather than acting as a halfway point, it only allows clubs to tweak their plans for the final run-in. Waterford have fourteen games out of thirty-six left (some clubs only have twelve remaining) and will be down to the final ten by the time the window closes. It means the window is more about a little D.I.Y. touch-up than full-scale interior decorating.

Not many are talking about it yet, but by far the biggest priority for Waterford this month is keeping a hold of Tommy Lonergan (main photo - Ken Sutton). In any league in the world, if the top scorer is at the bottom club, then the sharks will circle. Prolific strikers are THE most difficult thing to find in football. The Blues, amazingly, have two of them who’d be the envy of any club. We came very close to losing Pádraig Amond last winter, but the ownership pulled out all the stops and kept him on board. But Lonergan is a different profile given his age. A 22-year-old striker, who is six feet tall, has hugely developed his physical strength, has a bit of pace about him, confidence and a terrific eye for goal is the dream for virtually any manager in the world.

However, the Blues are in the fortunate position of having strong backing from the owners in Fleetwood - both financially and with industry expertise. My understanding is that Waterford received a massive bid from Derry City, but have turned it down. The suggestion is that it would have been a record fee for a transfer between two League of Ireland clubs. The top clubs have serious money, but we are lucky enough not to be in circumstances where we couldn’t reject an offer in the six-figure range.

 

Derry City had a League record bid for Tommy Lonergan rejected

Ten-goal Tommy is the hottest of commodities. He is contracted through this season and, given Fleetwood’s regular deals, it is very likely that the club holds an option in its favour to trigger a one-year extension for 2027. Again, this is one of the joys of the Fleetwood Group (there are cons to go with those pros) as there is an admirable stubbornness in contract negotiations. Enjoy him while we can, but my expectation is that we will see him wearing blue for the rest of the season at the very least. But with those qualities, another crack at football in the UK is certainly on the table for Lonergan should he wish for it.

There will be some comings and goings in the squad over the next few weeks, though don’t expect a complete overhaul. Manager Graham Coughlan’s approach has been to build a winning mentality within his team, and can be very happy with the recent rewards from that, so he won’t want to disrupt momentum by making too many changes. My information is that some players needed to leave before signings could be made and that has already begun.

Midfielder Cian Barrett has returned to Shamrock Rovers this week. That loan didn’t really work out with Graham Barrett’s son limited to five starts for Waterford and taken off at half time in three of those. There could be potential, however, for Waterford to go back to Rovers for another loan for the rest of the season. Stephen Bradley is in the enviable position of having too many talented players on the books. He will want to see some of them getting quality first team action elsewhere. The Blues lack wingers and pace so could Naj Razi be a possibility? The Irish under-21 international returned to Tallaght from Serie A side Como this winter, but has only had 100 minutes of Premier Division football so far this season. A short-term loan could meet the needs of both clubs and the player himself.

 

Cian Barrett is back with Shamrock Rovers after five starts for the Blues

Muhammad Oladiti has returned to Waterford after a loan spell with Wexford. He only made five substitute appearances for Stephen Elliott so it felt clear he would be better served elsewhere. A very talented midfielder with bags of potential and great physical attributes, there is a chance that he could go to Fleetwood Town for a year playing in their Professional Development team. Striker Zak O’Sullivan is home from a year in Fleetwood. He will be available for Eddie Nolan’s U20s from today unless he is loaned to a First Division club. Calum Costello is back in Poolfoot Farm for preseason. He is due to spend a second season with Fleetwood on loan, but there seems to be a strong chance that deal is made permanent.

With two of the league’s top forwards ahead of him in the pecking order, I think it is very likely that Conor Carty leaves the RSC in this window. A key signing for Jon Daly, he started the first two games of the season and has totalled four more starts plus eight substitute appearances. His most recent runout, however, was an eight-minute outing in Richmond Park in a match that was long lost. That was his only game time under Coughlan and he doesn’t appear to be in the manager’s plans. There have been rumours that he could join Sligo, who badly need a striker. Our relegation rivals have only had two goals from centre forwards all season - one each for Cian Kavanagh and Mai Traore - with the latter’s loan at the club ending yesterday.

Contrary to rumours, I don’t believe Ryan Burke is returning or that Jesse Dempsey is going to Cobh Ramblers on loan. Two months ago, there was a strong possibility of Burke coming back to the club he never wanted to leave, but Benny Couto’s improved performances seem to have put that deal on the back burner. Though Burke would receive a red-carpet welcome in Waterford, he has only played 65 minutes of league football this season so could be a little rusty. I would think Bohemians would be open to a deal, but it seems less likely now, especially with Couto taking increased responsibility as a set-piece taker under Coughlan.

 

Jesse Dempsey is in Graham Coughlan's plans and not bound for Cobh

As for Jesse Dempsey, the player himself certainly didn’t know anything about Cobh until he read it here yesterday. He has been training very well and seems to be gaining favour with Coughlan. Ramblers, under Fran Rockett, will know him well and may like him, but my understanding is that they are very happy with academy product Luka Le Bervet having nailed down his place at left back. There had been talk of Dempsey going out on loan, but, to the best of my knowledge, that is off the table now.

Ronan Mansfield appears to be drawing attention from other League of Ireland clubs. The 20-year-old Cappoquin man will definitely be frustrated with his lack of opportunities having returned from a year in Fleetwood where he is highly-thought-of by Matt Lawlor amongst others. The signing of Kevin Long has pushed him to fourth choice centre back in a team that uses three. Graham Coughlan has praised Mansfield previously, but I’d imagine Ronan, who is ambitious, will be aching to get playing regularly and First Division clubs may offer him that experience, whether on loan or permanently.

Conan Noonan is another who is surely frustrated to have lost his place and will attract interest, but I can’t see the club allowing their record signing to leave. Hopefully he will see more involvement because he is a gifted player with a wonderful attitude. Coughlan has favoured a midfield more focused on battling, chasing and tackling and it is working. Noonan does possess all of those qualities though so let’s hope he can remain a key figure in the run-in when he could be the difference between draws and precious wins.

 

Calum Costello back in preseason training with Fleetwood's first team

One player who has arrived is Goforth Amedu and, by all accounts, he did reasonably well for the U20s in their 2-1 win over Galway on Saturday despite scoring an unlucky own goal. The Nigerian midfielder was added to Waterford’s squad on the FAI Connect app back in February, meaning he was registered but awaiting international clearance. That didn’t happen at the time, but has since been cleared up. While he wasn’t a Graham Coughlan signing, his height and strength might appeal to the manager.

Finally, on other players coming in……..no names as of yet. I’d expect two or three, but not major change within a squad who are currently one of the most dangerous in the division against whom to play. I’d expect some addition to midfield where I know Coughlan isn’t alone in feeling there is a lot of similarity and lack of balance in the options there. All good players, but we might need something different. Evan McLaughlin has yet to spark here and missed time for various reasons so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him on the move, but that’s more guesswork than anything. We might see reinforcements at full back too, but the defence is unlikely to be unsettled too much.

With three wins in the last six matches, the Blues are one of the form teams in the division and Coughlan has struck on something. Don’t expect that to be dismantled this month either from seeing key players depart or too many newcomers being brought in who may take time to settle. There are fourteen games left. Momentum is with Waterford. A few sensible additions could make all the difference, but back the boys we have.