Crewe Alex's January Transfer Options

Teams have 2 windows in which to make major improvements to their team. The summer window, which is officially from the start of July to the end of August. And mid-way through the season, in January. We are now officially 2 weeks away from the January window opening and teams are sharpening their focus on what they will need in the winter window to strengthen their team ahead of the final push for what most teams still hope will be a promotion run.

Crewe Alex are no different in that regard. January's transfer window could make or break their season. However, their options are limited with the a full looking squad, 5 loan slots used and probably little money left in the budget for more additions. But they could create wiggle room with some moves. So, let's look at what they need and how they could go about finding the room to add those players.

What do they Need?

Goalkeeper?

No, I don't think so. Sam Waller's positive league debut for the club on Saturday should hopefully give Tom Booth some real competition for the number 1 spot, so I don't envision them cutting Waller's loan short to find an alternative at this stage.

Defence?

100% yes. There are 2 key things they need, which an upgrade on their depth at full back and an experienced CB. The latter was something they've needed for 18 months, but they desperately need it now as Mickey Demetriou is starting to miss games with injury. James Connolly and James Golding don't fill me with much confidence and I think the management see Lewis Billington moving back to RB once Demetriou returns to fitness.

As for the full back depth, the manager rightly or wrongly doesn't trust Jay Mingi and Charlie Finney simply isn't good enough. With Billington being needed to move to CB on occasion and Reece Hutchinson surely only 10-15 games away from needing to be scaled back from first team starts, they need 1 to 2 full backs.

Need: 1 Experienced CB and 1/2 Full Backs

Midfield?

100% yes also. Max Sanders has been immense, but it feels like a 1 man show at the moment. Maybe that's harsh on Conor Thomas and Owen Lunt, but Thomas has his 2nd injury of the season, doesn't touch the ball and can't complete a 90 minutes often enough. Lunt also seems to be enjoying more success further forward, so I'm not sure moving him deeper alongside Sanders is going to work long term.

Jack Powell is almost a forgotten man, but it's clear the ACL injury has sapped his ability and the Alex's current style of play doesn't suit him unfortunately. Behind him there is Olly Armstrong and Luca Moore, but you wouldn't want either playing lots of games. They need another midfielder to slot in as an extra option alongside Sanders, Thomas and Lunt.

Need: 1 midfielder

Attack?

Honestly, no. They have 4 players who can play striker in Emre Tezgel, Josh March, Omar Bogle and Adrien Thibaut. In terms of wingers/number 10s/attacking midfielders, they have Tommi O'Reilly, Calum Agius, Jack Lankester, Owen Lunt, Matus Holicek, Dion Rankine and, at some point in the new year, Shilow Tracey. If they suffer a loan recall of Tezgel and O'Reilly, they could perhaps need replacements but for now, I think they are set in this area.

Who Goes Out?

So, they need 3 new signings in my opinion. A RB/LB, CB and CM. Well, the issue in bringing these players is, the squad is pretty full already. They have 26 contracted players(not including Zac Williams) and 5 loanees(not including Harvey Griffiths) already in the building. That means currently they have virtually no wiggle room to bring in more I wouldn't have thought. But if they are able to move out some players, then that frees up space. So, who goes out?

Nightmare Scenario

We can't dance around the worst case scenario, which is Aston Villa and Stoke City recalling Tommi O'Reilly and Emre Tezgel from their loan spells early. Both clubs have recent history of doing this, even with settled loanees who should have stayed in place. Last season, Villa recalled Louie Barry from Stockport and sent him to Hull. Stoke of course took back Nathan Lowe despite him being the L2 highest scorer at the time for Walsall.

Now, I think both O'Reilly and Tezgel are in entirely different situations to those of Barry and Lowe. Should Villa recall O'Reilly, it won't be to go into their team. It'll be with a view to send him into L1. Which is very possible as I'm sure there are a few teams in that league who are desperate for someone with his shooting and creative ability. I put his chances at staying at 75-25 in the Alex's favour, but that could drop if he continues to impress in the coming weeks. I honestly can't call what Villa will do.

As for Tezgel, the Alex entered into an agreement with Stoke that the Potters would help maintain the Alex's Gresty Road pitch so long as the Stoke U21s could play a few games there. Does that agreement include Tezgel staying all season or not? I doubt it personally.

What works in the Alex's favour is that last season with Nathan Lowe, the Potters were in relegation trouble and desperately needed all the firepower they could get. Lowe was recalled and scored in his first game back with them at West Brom. Should they feel they need to recall a player, surely Lowe is their first candidate as he's playing in a higher division with Stockport. I doubt they recall Tezgel from the division below. And I doubt they are in a rush to recall either Lowe or Tezgel given they are pushing for the top 6 in the Championship and will surely be targeting a proven striker rather than a youngster with no track record at that level should they need more firepower for the 2nd half of the season.

However, what works against them is that Tezgel was reluctant to sign a deal with Stoke last summer and clearly he feels he can play at a higher level. And with 7 league goals already this season, he's probably not wrong. Stoke could decide to send him to L1 for the 2nd half of the season to see if he can step up. Or, they could cash in whilst he's a hot hand and recall him with a view to selling him. I put his chances at staying at 50-50.

However, before we start getting gloomy, I think the Alex planned for both possibilities. Remember, should both players go back to their parent clubs, the attack would still have March, Bogle, Agius, Lankester, Holicek, Lunt, Rankine and at some point in the coming months, Tracey. That's still a fair chunk of quality and it doesn't rule them out from moving to sign replacements either. It would be a huge blow to lose either player, but I think and hope the Alex are well prepared should that happen.

Loans Cut Short

Assuming the worst case scenario doesn't happen and they don't lose either O'Reilly or Tezgel, what else can they do loan wise? As already discussed, I don't see them sending Waller back, so that leaves just James Golding and Jay Mingi as players who could be sent back and replaced. Personally, that is what I would do. It's clear the manager doesn't trust Mingi given how sparingly he's been used in the league since arriving. 1 start, which lasted just 54 minutes, shows Bell doesn't rate him. Him going back feels a certainty at this point.

As for Golding, I get why they signed him and his usage/success has been more mixed. But when Bell started him for a couple of games earlier in the season and then had to choose between him and Connolly after the Bromley game, Connolly emerged as his preferred 1st choice. Golding would have started more had he not gotten injured at Cambridge, but I don't think they need another young CB when they have Connolly, Billington and Croker in the club. They need a 25+ year old player who a few hundred appearances to his name ideally, to help organise the defence when Demetriou isn't there. Find me one other EFL club with only 1 player aged over 25 in their defence and I bet it'll be a struggle. I just don't see the need to keep Golding around personally.

Contracted Players

There are several candidates who I think could see themselves being asked to move on permanently or be loaned out for the remainder of their deals. The first is Jack Powell. Yes, they could keep him for his set pieces and experience, but his abilities in open play aren't what they used to be and his laid back possession heavy style of play doesn't suit Lee Bell or the Alex. Sending him out on loan or ending his deal permanently to free up his wages would be useful. Could Crawley take him back potentially?

The next candidate is Louis Moult. He's not added anything meaningful since he was signed and with Tezgel(hopefully), March, Bogle and maybe even Thibaut as striker options, I think they can move Moult on. Whether he would have any takers is another matter, but getting his wages off the books could allow them to address other more pressing areas.

Another is Charlie Finney. He's had moments where he looks like an EFL football, but he's also made some crippling mistakes which have led to goals, namely the 2nd goal against Grimsby and the 2nd goal against Newport. They might see him still as being the player to eventually take over from Reece Hutchinson at LB, but personally I'd rather they look for an upgrade, as I don't think it's going to happen for him in pro football. Gambling on him being your starting LB in the 2nd half of the season is a huge risk.

A 4th is Fin Roberts. It's a shame that he hasn't developed as much as hoped, as he does have talent. But his loan spell at Chester has shown that even the 6th tier isn't really to his liking. It was a low risk signing when he came in 18 months ago and it hasn't worked out. Time to move on for all parties I think.

How likely are any of those moves to happening? Not very is my assessment. I don't see there being huge interest in Finney, Moult or Roberts at this time. Powell might have a couple of suitors back in his native South East. But if they could shift on 2-3 of these players, it would help generate money for new signings you feel.

What would I do?

As I said, in an ideal world, I'm sending the 6 names mentioned above out. I'm ending the loans of Mingi and Golding, plus cutting up the doing my best to find suitors for Powell, Moult and Roberts. Then I'm signing a RB, experienced CB and a CM.

With one of the first 2 loan slots, I'm using it on a CM. The first signing I'm looking at in this area is Sammy Braybrooke, currently on loan at Newport from Leicester. He was outstanding when he played against the Alex last week and with him being a Midlands lad, maybe the Foxes fancy him going out higher up the pyramid closer to home, whilst also not staying with a struggling Exiles side.

An ambitious signing would be Jack Fletcher from Man Utd. The England youth international might be setting his sights higher, but a promotion chasing side not far from Manchester wouldn't be the worst place for his first steps in pro football.

An option to tick not just the CM box but the full back box as well is Ethan Sutherland at Wolves. He is versatile and can play both midfield and full back, so would slot into the squad nicely.

To fill the RB vacancy, I'd look at Jack Hunt. Currently under contract at Stockport, he's barely played for the Hatters and his deal runs out in January. Should County move on from him, I'd bring him in as a free agent. He's 35, so it would be a deal until the end of the season with the option of another year at most, but he would be a solid addition I feel and could take starts of Billington, allowing him to shift inside to RCB when needed.

Curtis Tilt or Neill Byrne at Bradford could possibilities for the experienced CB slot. Both have started a few games for the Bantams this season but both find themselves out of the starting XI. A regular starting job might tempt either to drop into L2. There are targets out there, but for me, the single biggest thing need is experience.

Conclusion

For me, several things will need to happen for the Alex to improve themselves in January. First, they will likely need to move on from a loanee or 2 and potentially move out contracted players. I would imagine it's an "out before in" situation, which means whilst some teams will likely have players ready to come in on January 1st, Alex fans might need to be patient and wait a while for the first incomings of the window.

But one thing is for sure, they need improvements. Not a dramatic overhaul, just some upgrades and better depth in 3 key spots, namely full back, CB and CM. Do that and they are very well positioned to kick on in 2026 and make this season a successful one.