Raggs – Could it happen?

A significant weekend for Lincoln City meant that one bit of news passed under the radar – Sean Raggett made his debut for Norwich.

It was mentioned on social media, but perhaps with the signing of James Wilson and the immense display that Bozzie turned in on Saturday, the prospect of getting our former hero back seemed less important than before. After all, Wilson will be scrapping for a starting place and I thought Bozzie looked more commanding at centre-back than in midfield. Along with Luke and the returning Callum Howe, we do seem to have the back line covered.

Of course, should Sean be available we’d be foolish not to jump in, we could easily accommodate Bozzie back in midfield and pair Raggs with James Wilson. That seems harsh on Luke, it is harsh on Luke, but that’s football.

Now Sean has made his Norwich debut it means he can’t go out on loan anywhere else. He either remains at Norwich or he comes back to Lincoln City. It’s odd that his debut didn’t cause a fervour because back in November, when he was first cup-tied against Wimbledon, we all felt that meant he was going out elsewhere. Now he’s played for Norwich, the chance of him returning here is real.

Much depends on Daniel Farke and his assessment of Raggs. I’d imagine he’ll be involved in their squad for the league matches against Sheffield United and Brentford, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him on the bench against Chelsea this week either. I actually feel much depends on whether he is included against the Blues.

If he appears amongst the subs for the FA Cup replay then I can see him being a bigger part of the manager’s plans than we first thought he might be. If he does make the bench I imagine that means he will not be going back out on loan. After all, if you’re good enough to be considered as a replacement at centre-half against the likes of Alvaro Morata, your club are not then going to farm you out to face Morecambe or Yeovil on a regular basis.

However, if he’s still deemed as ‘not ready’ for that big game, he might be available for regular football. A sensible manager might look at the situation and think ‘he’ll benefit from first team football between now and May’, therefore wanting him back out on loan. If he does, there’s only one place he can come. Lincoln City.

It’s a long shot and whilst I’ve been a keen advocate of us moving on, we’d also be foolish not to have him back on loan if the chance arose. Sean Raggett is an excellent footballer with a big future and any return would certainly be his last. He clearly has an affection for our club and whilst he wants his career to progress, he’ll also be very much at the behest of his current employers. It might not be an ideal situation from a personal point of view for the lad, but if we could get him back on loan it would certainly aid our quest for League One football next season.