"Real problem" - Lincoln City: January transfer fear revealed amid Norwich City, Burnley interest | OneFootball

The midfielder has been one of the Imps' top performers since his arrival in January 2023

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

After ending the previous campaign in such strong form, Lincoln City have continued where they left off after flying out the blocks at the start of the 2024/25 season.

Michael Skubala has got everybody singing off the same hymn sheet at Sincil Bank, with the play-off near-miss of last season followed up by an impressive start to this year, which sees them once again competing near the top of the third tier.

Former Leeds United coach Skubala has mixed youth and experience expertly well to produce a side who can go toe-to-toe with the majority of sides in the division, with some standout performances already catching the eye within the Imps setup.

With that in mind, we spoke to Football League World’s City fan pundit Gary Hutchinson of The Stacey West website about which player would be missed the most in January, should transfer interest arise.

Ethan Erhahon continues to prove himself in Lincoln City midfield

Since arriving from St Mirren in January 2023, Ethan Erhahon has been a regular presence in Lincoln’s midfield, as he continues to dictate games with is protection of the ball in possession, as well as his tireless hounding of the opposition.

As a result, there have already been reports from TBR Football that a number of Championship sides have been monitoring his progress ahead of the turn of the year, with Burnley and Norwich City among those said to be in the mix.

West Bromwich Albion and Hull City have also been linked with City’s Player of the Season from the previous campaign, which further proves just how much of an impact he has been having for the Sincil Bank outfit of late.

With the 23-year-old likely to step up to the Championship before too long, it is no surprise that Hutchinson earmarked the Scot as the biggest loss if he were to leave, although his belief is that Skubala’s squad-building will limit any losses in January.

When asked about any mid-season departures effecting the club, Hutchinson told FLW: “I don’t think any player is irreplaceable, and think if you are to lose anybody in this day and age when you are a League One club, there will be a replacement out there.

“Whether it is a Championship player who is out of favour, a young player from the Premier League that you can loan in, or a League Two player doing well, nobody is irreplaceable and I think that is really important to stress.

“However, I think if we were to lose Ethan Erhahon, that would be a real problem, and transfer interest has emerged.

“The issue is that Erhahon plays in the defensive midfield role, the number six role, and he is probably the only dedicated player that we have in that position.

“I do think that as a player in that position, you have to have a degree of experience as well as intelligence, so you can’t just loan a really good defensive midfielder from a Premier League side, because very few 18, 19 or 20-year-olds have got the ability to play that role in the way Erhahon does.”

Michael Skubala’s Lincoln City project is key to Sincil Bank success

While Erhahon has been pulling the strings in the middle of the park, City have been more than the sum of their parts during Skubala’s tenure, with the 41-year-old [pictured] approaching 12 months in his current role.

With a squad built where everybody knows their role, and a depth that means players can be interchangeable when fitness and availability dictates, Hutchinson is very much of the belief that the Imps will continue their promotion push regardless of any January action, such is the strength of the club at this moment in time.

Hutchinson added: “He would be the one that would be the most difficult to replace, I think anybody else in the squad - bar captain Paudie O’Connor - would be replaceable.

“That is no slur on the players, but the fact is we have a really good squad of 24 senior professionals, almost any of which can play first-team football for Lincoln, and it wouldn’t be to the first-team’s detriment.

“So really good squad-building has left us in a good position, and I don’t think anybody is irreplaceable.”