Exeter City are in pole position to secure summer transfer after big January win | OneFootball

Alex Hartridge has been brilliant since his return to Exeter City on loan from Wycombe Wanderers and the Grecians should make it permanent.

There have been some crazy transfer windows at Exeter City over the years and January was right up there.

Manager Gary Caldwell's plans were left in tatters after Tristan Crama's recall, the sale of Millenic Alli and injuries to Johnly Yfeko and Pierce Sweeney. What had looked likely to be a relatively quiet month suddenly exploded into life.

Defensive additions were badly needed, and they duly arrived with Ed Turns and Angus MacDonald signing on permanent deals.

But the transfer that was as enjoyable as it was surprising was the shock return of the home-grown fan favourite Alex Hartridge, who rejoined on loan until the end of the season from Wycombe Wanderers.

The 26-year-old defender flew the nest in the summer to head to the Chairboys but found game time hard to come by, featuring just 14 times in the first half of the season.

He's faced no such struggle to get into Exeter's team and, with Cheick Diabate badly out of form and injuries to everyone else, he's not faced much competition for his place either, slotting seamlessly into the left-hand side of a back three with Turns and MacDonald in City's hastily arranged and new-look backline.

Hartridge back to his best at Exeter

Despite the January scramble, all three of City's defensive reinforcements look to be very good signings and the team's form has markedly improved now that people are not filling in at the back and Caldwell isn't being forced to mend and make do.

The results speak for themselves and now the Grecians are close to the level of performance they were enjoying in defence at the start of the season.

Since Hartridge's return City have conceded nine goals in eight games, with seven of those coming in two defeats away at Stevenage and Charlton Athletic.

There have now been four clean sheets in the last seven games for Exeter as they quickly moved to fend off any relegation fears that had seen them dip into the drop zone on the live table during the Northampton Town game at the start of the month.

Heading into Saturday's trip to Lincoln City, Exeter are on a run of five games without defeat, and they've picked up 12 points in the last seven games.

The League One table looks a lot rosier now with City up to 16th and sporting a hearty eight-point gap to the bottom four.

Realistically, two more wins in their remaining 10 games will probably be enough to guarantee survival and a spot in the third tier next season feels inevitable.

Caldwell can start to turn an eye towards next season, and he must surely be weighing up a move for Hartridge on a permanent basis.

Exeter should push to sign Hartridge

Wycombe are having an excellent season and are flying high in second with nine games left to play, despite losing the man who signed Hartridge, Matt Bloomfield, halfway through the season as he took the reins at Luton Town.

They'll be hoping Hartridge can do them a favour and deliver another shutout for City against Wrexham next weekend as they're only behind the Chairboys on goal difference in the battle for automatic promotion.

If Wycombe are to go up then you feel City would have a better chance of getting Hartridge on a permanent, whether that's via a transfer fee paid or if his contract is ripped up, as we've seen with the arrivals of Angus MacDonald and Ryan Woods in recent times.

City do have a bit of cash to spend as well after Alli moved to Luton Town for a reported £1.5m in January.

From Exeter's point of view, it looks a no-brainer if a sensible deal can be done. You sense Hartridge would be keen on it as well, especially with some rather negative comments on his performances from Wycombe fans this season.

While fans at Adams Park have not taken to him, he's well-loved in Devon's capital, and he's been putting in performances that have, so far, been some of his best in a City shirt, which culminated in his first-ever EFL goal during the 1-1 draw at Rotherham United last weekend.