It’s time for part two of the ‘where are they now’ transfer article.
I’m looking at players the Imps have either had on trial, or have been linked with in the press. Some we have signed, some we have not. Some are probably players we were interested in; others were likely to have been journalist chatter. Either way, it interested me to know exactly who we may have looked at and where they are now.
I’ve gone back through the rumours and whispers to let you know where the players we’ve been linked with are right now. This is the second of a two-part article (part one is here) and covers players we have been linked with during Mark Kennedy’s reign, leading into this summer.
These are players we didn’t sign, despite being linked. Where are they now? How have they done in the meantime?
Connor Malley
Connor Malley wasn’t a rumour – he came on trial last summer looking to earn a place in Mark Kennedy’s side. Malley, a central midfielder, came through the ranks at Middlesbrough, and impressed on loan at Gateshead, but didn’t do enough to earn an Imps’ contract.
Instead, he joined Rochdale but struggled to make a significant impact. After 14 matches he left, with the club floundering in League Two. They were eventually relegated and Malley moved to Ireland. He joined Dundalk, in the same division as Drogheda and Shelbourne, and he’s since appeared in the Europa League for his new club, scoring twice in 26 starts.
Jesurun Rak-Sakyi
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp8JbcJo8FY/?img_index=1
We were linked with Jesurun Rak-Sakyi courtesy of London World, along with a clutch of other League One teams. Instead of moving to the Bank, he chose Charlton, and it’s fair to say he had a huge impact. He impressed against us at The Valley, and finished the season with 15 goals and eight assists. 23 goal involvements in 49 games is very impressive.
This summer, he was linked with multiple Championship moves, but instead has remained at Crystal Palace, where he has appeared in the Premier League, coming on as a late sub against Arsenal.
William Osula
We have a handful of tenuous links with William Osula, with Alan Nixon originally identifying him as a target of ours. He impressed against us for the Blades in pre-season, and as we hunted a striker he looked like a good fit. Instead, he went to Derby County, scoring five times. Three of those goals came in the FA Cup, and following his red card in the 4-0 defeat at Accrington, he returned to Bramall Lane.
Curiously, despite only appearing twice for the Blades last season, he has started three Premier League matches for them, with his final appearance coming against us in the League Cup as a sub. He missed a penalty in the shootout as well.
John-Kymani Gordon
The link with John-Kymani Gordon came credit of Peter O’Rourke. Like Rak-Sakyi, he is a Palace player, but he was linked in December, after appearing for his parent club in the EFL Trophy. Multiple clubs were linked with him, one being Carlisle, which was his ultimate destination.
He started eight matches for the Bluebirds, appearing as a sub in seven and scoring twice. This summer, several League One clubs were linked with the forward, but not us. He moved to Mark Bonner’s Cambridge, where he’s currently appeared just once.