Chesterfield, Stockport County conclusion may be vital ahead of Walsall and Doncaster Rovers | OneFootball

Chesterfield failed to conduct any business on deadline day after a busy window, meaning Armando Dobra remains a Spireite despite Stockport interest.

After a busy January window saw Chesterfield bring in six new arrivals, as well as the departures of James Berry and Dilan Markanday, Paul Cook’s new-look squad will be put to the test almost immediately, with fixtures against the league’s top two coming up.

The National League winners have struggled for form as of late, with just one win in their last seven league games, and as a result, the pre-season favourites for promotion have slipped to 10th in the table, eight points off the play-off places.

After Cook suggested the Spireites would be active on deadline day, there was radio silence in Derbyshire, despite reports linking 20-year-old defender Malik Owolabi-Belewu with a move to the SMH Group.

They didn't make any deadline day moves but Chesterfield fans were delighted at the complete silence because it meant star player Armando Dobra would remain at the club – better news than any new signing.

Armando Dobra remains a Chesterfield player despite Stockport County's interest

Having already sold James Berry to Wycombe Wanderers earlier in the window, losing the 23-year-old at the 11th hour would have been a disaster for the Spireites, who would have had virtually no time to replace him.

League One Stockport County were rumoured to have a strong interest in the winger, as they hunt for a third promotion in four seasons, with Dobra’s form improving in recent weeks, scoring five and assisting one goal in his last 10 games.

The Albania U21 international has been a fan favourite since his move from Cook’s former team, Ipswich Town, in the summer of 2022, and he played an instrumental role in Chesterfield’s National League title win last year, scoring 10 goals and providing 10 assists.

The former Colchester United loanee started this season brightly with a goal in his first two League Two games. His form took a dip in Autumn, going goalless from August and late October, but after winning man of the match following a goal and an assist against Bromley, the winger looks back to his best.

Blessed with a low centre of gravity, a turn of pace, and immaculate close control, he is comfortably Chesterfield’s most technically gifted player, with the winger’s technique and skillset making him a perfect player in Cook’s possession-based system.

Dobra’s current deal at Chesterfield doesn’t expire until the summer of 2026, and thanks to Berry’s six-figure sale, the Spireites are not short of cash, so they are in a strong selling position.

If the Albanian’s impressive form continues, there will undoubtedly be teams sniffing around for his signature in the summer, but in the meantime, Dobra will have a key role to play to try and make Cook’s play-off dream come true.

Dobra will have to continue his impressive form if Chesterfield are to make the play-offs

The former Ipswich man’s return to form has unfortunately coincided with Chesterfield’s worst run of the season, which has seen them win just one of their last seven games, and with Doncaster Rovers and Walsall, the top two, coming up next, Cook will be hoping his impressive form can continue.

First up is red-hot Doncaster, who have won all their last four league games, which has helped them climb to second in the table, 13 points ahead of the Spireites.

Chesterfield produced one of their performances of the season last time the two sides met, with Cook’s side coming out 3–0 winners, but after an injury-hit few months, as well as a busy January window, Town’s side from that day is almost unrecognizable to what it is now.

From the Town side in September, the loans of Devan Tanton and Markanday were cut short, the trio of Chey Dunkley, Lewis Gordon and Harvey Araujo are all currently out injured, and goalkeeper Ryan Boot has seemingly lost his place to Newcastle loanee Max Thompson.

In terms of players likely to start the clash, it leaves just Paddy Madden, Tom Naylor, Darren Oldaker, Liam Mandeville and Dobra, so with a new-look team waiting to take on Grant McCann’s in-form side, Cook will look to his senior players to step up.

Like the Blues, league leaders Walsall’s form has taken a dip in recent matches, having picked up just one out of a possible nine points in their last three games, but a 16-game unbeaten run earlier this season means the Saddlers are still seven points clear at the top of the table.

The league leaders’ poor run of form has coincided with the loss of their two first-choice strikers, Jamile Matt and Nathan Lowe, who both caused the Spireites problems in a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture.

League Two’s top scorer Lowe, who scored 15 goals in 22 games, was recalled by parent club Stoke City in January and target man Matt, who has nine goals this season, was forced off with an ankle injury against Bradford City, and has missed the next two games, although he is targeting a return against Colchester United on Saturday.

While Chesterfield’s next two games are not ‘make or break’, dropping further behind in the race for the top seven would give Cook’s men a mountain to climb at the back end of the season.

With the departures of Berry, who had seven goals and three assists, and Markanday, who had scored six and assisted three, the responsibility to create and score goals likely relies on Dobra, with Chesterfield’s other attacking options struggling for form, or newly acquired youngsters.

The 23-year-old is Chesterfield’s current top scorer with eight goals, tied with the currently injured Will Grigg, so Cook will see the Albanian as a potential match-winner who can drag Town to an unlikely play-off place after what has been an injury-hit campaign for the Spireites.

Cook still believes the squad is capable of promotion to League One this campaign, and with 18 games to go, an on-form Dobra, and players getting back to full fitness, it would be foolish to completely write them off just yet.