Stockport County urged to strike transfer amid potential Ethan Pye or Fraser Horsfall concern | OneFootball

Stockport County could do with some additional transfers before the end of the January window

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…

The end of the January transfer window is fast approaching, and Stockport County still have gaps to fill.

Top scorer Louie Barry was recalled by Aston Villa to explore options further up the pyramid, with Middlesbrough’s Micah Hamilton bought in to replace him on loan.

But it still feels like there’s business to be done for the Hatters, who are currently running low on first-team defenders.

We asked our Stockport County Fan Pundit, James, for his view on what a dream last week of the transfer window would look like at Edgeley Park.

Defenders needed at County, says Fan Pundit

Speaking to Football League World, James said: “I mean, to be honest, we've had an okay window.

“We’ve just brought in Micah Hamilton who I think is a promising youngster again on loan.

“He is kind of hailed as the Louie Barry replacement. I don't think he's going to live up to that because he's only here until the rest of the season. But I think he might bring a youthful spark. I did ask some Boro fans on Twitter whether he was good, but yeah, it was mixed responses. They haven't really seen much of him, but he's promising. So that's all that really matters.

“And he's come to us. Again, now where we've developed Louie Barry, we've got a reputation for [being]developers, I guess, among bigger clubs.

“But yeah, for the last week, I'd like us to get in more centre-back depth because if either of Ethan Pye or Fraser Horsfall gets injured, I don't know who plays. I genuinely don't know who plays, because we've just sent Sam Hughes out on loan, who is our only back-up centre-half, so I just don't know who plays.

“So we need just a solid centre-half. I can't really pinpoint any player, but yeah, a centre-half is the dream realistically.

“We also brought in Benony Breki Andresson, which I think is another good signing. We haven't really seen much of him yet. I mean, a few bench cameos, but that's about it. So yeah, centre-half is my dream last week of the window.”

The Hatters are in desperate need defensively

With County still waiting for Fraser Horsfall to return from injury and, as James mentioned, Hughes being sent out on loan, Ethan Pye stands as the club’s only fit, natural defender.

Making matters worse is the fact that Challinor has switched back to a back three, requiring an additional centre-back.

The severity of the situation has been somewhat disguised by the performances of Kyle Knoyle and Callum Connolly, both playing slightly out of their natural positions, but an injury to either of those two or Pye would leave the Hatters in an extremely difficult position before Horsfall returns.

Challinor and the decision-makers at Edgeley Park will be only too aware of this situation, and it seems obvious that they will work to address this in the coming days, but time is running out, so they must act fast in this final week or risk heading into the second half of the season short on numbers.