Hakeeb Adelakun is a funny one. He seems to do well with a club, sit out the first month or so of the season with no deal, then rock up at a club like a saviour.
I liked Haks (then I didn’t, then I did again). He had something, but he only showed it once or twice. His redemption story, scoring twice against the manager who froze him out, was bittersweet in many ways. He thrived under Kennedy, but only because we didn’t have a striker and he was thrown in with a ‘let’s see what happens here’ attitude.
Well, now Steve Cotterill is going to be doing the same. Cheltenham Town have announced the signing of Adelakun on a short-term deal until January. The 29-year-old had been without a club since leaving Salford City at the end of last season, but goes straight into the Robins’ squad for their League Two clash with Notts County on Monday night.
Adelakun began his career with Scunthorpe United, where he made more than 150 appearances, before earning moves to Bristol City and later Hull City. It was after his Tigers’ loan (three goals in 12 games) that he came to us. There’s no secret that when he arrived, he wasn’t our first choice, and while I was excited the former West Ham trainee was at the Bank, not many shared my enthusiasm.
He flopped. Let’s be honest, he did. The Carlisle drinking incident didn’t help him, us conceding as he left his man and went for a drink of water. He was frozen out by Appleton and was on the verge of leaving under Kennedy. Injuries gave him a reprieve, and he did redeem himself with those Charlton goals.
He was never going to be a long-term fix, though, and a move to Gillingham and later Doncaster Rovers saw him remain in the EFL. The one-time Stacey West-sponsored player was one we always kept an eye on, with the sort of fondness one reserves for an old school friend who dropped out and never really hurt anyone.
His arrival gives new options to the Cheltenham attack as they look to climb the League Two table before the turn of the year.