A busy Deadline Day at Stevenage FC has now concluded with four loan signings coming in, one player going out and one loan deal turned permanent...
After a slow start to the January Transfer Window which saw Moses Makasi arrive from West Ham on the 11th January and Jonny Goddard leave for Aldershot on the 19th January, the pace picked up on Thursday as the Stevenage squad was reshuffled to try and improve the team’s attacking output.
Joining the club on loan until the end of the season is Callum Dyson from Plymouth, Elijah Adebayo from Fulham, Ilias Chair from QPR and Jordan Gibson from Bradford.
Importantly, Stevenage will have an option-to-buy for three of the four players and Chairman Phil Wallace says that it was vital the club brought in some new forward options.
"Losing at home last week was a blow to our play-off hopes. The crowd wasn’t happy with the way we played either so adding some competition for places, especially in forward areas, was something we felt we needed to do.
"The lads coming in have a chance to show us what they can do and get a feel for the club and perhaps we will make some permanent. We always leave most of our business to the end of the window having researched who we want. Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn’t - in terms of what we pay and who we get - but last year and this year I think it has.
"In terms of deals that didn't get made - it is disappointing that we couldn’t get one agreed for Joe Martin, after we had interest from three or four clubs, but we will look at that again next week. Now we need to regroup and see how far we can go together in the last 16 games of the season."
Going the other way yesterday was Ben Kennedy who has joined Newport County on loan until the end of the season. Although many supporters may be surprised to see the news about Kennedy, the Chairman says that the club were left with little choice.
"Ben made it clear that he didn’t want to stay at Stevenage for the rest of this season. He felt he needed a different environment to play his best football. Since he has another year on his contract, it is in both our interests that he plays to the best of his ability to show clubs higher in the pyramid what he is capable of.
"He is a creative talent, a match winner and they are not easy to find. This move wasn’t one I wanted, but sometimes you have to be realistic if someone doesn’t want to be part of what the club is doing or how we are doing it.
"Ben will go on the Transfer List next summer with a year left and we will see where we go from there. Now we just have to sharpen up for the last 16 games. Lots of clubs have strengthened, both at the top and the bottom, so it is going to be an interesting few months."
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