Regan Poole was released by League One side Lincoln City in recent weeks as part of their released/retained list for the next season, as the club chose who they would be offering new contracts to and who they would allow to move on.
Poole was one of the exceptions you see sometimes in football, as the club offered him a new contract, but he opted against remaining with the Imps to explore his options and seek out football at a higher level. In the winter, the defender was attracting a lot of interest from clubs in the Championship, as teams such as QPR and Huddersfield added the Welsh left-back to their shopping list for the January transfer window. Despite that interest, no offers would come in for the Imps man, likely due to him being out of contract in the summer, with teams possibly choosing to wait and see if they could entice the defender when his contract with Lincoln came to an end.
Poole was exposed to senior football at a young age as he debuted for Newport County at the age of 16, starting out with the Cardiff City academy prior to joining Newport, the defender would make 15 appearances for the Exiles, before the summer of 2015 saw him earn a dream move to Premier League giants Manchester United. His time with the Red Devils saw very little senior football, other than loan spells with Northampton and his previous club Newport County. His only senior appearance for the Premier League side would come as a late substitute in the Europa League, as he came on in the closing stages of a 5-1 win over FC Midtjylland. Spending the second half of the 2018/19 season on loan with his former club, Regan would depart Manchester United with just one substitute appearance, as he joined MK Dons permanently before joining the Imps in January of 2021.
With such a vast amount of senior experience to his name at just 24 years old, as well as the benefits of working with top Premier League coaches and learning from some of the biggest names in football, representing a club with a calibre as high as Manchester United, one of the most successful clubs in European football, Poole has a lot to offer clubs as he seeks out his next challenge in football, with many suggesting he will be paying Championship football next season, we take a look at five possible clubs Poole could be pulling a shirt on for next season.
Ipswich Town
First on our list is the Championship new boys Ipswich Town. The Tractor Boys enjoyed an incredibly successful campaign in the season which has just ended as they finished second in League One, sealing automatic promotion in their return to the Championship. They had been credited with an interest in the past and it is reasonable to suggest that they could still have him as a potential target. McKenna will be looking to build a side hungry to push on next season and Poole could add that versatility and leadership to help them achieve their goals.
Cardiff City
The easy link. One of the main reasons the Welshman wanted to move on was to attempt to work his way into Robert Page’s National Team squad. What better way to do that than to represent the capital? Before joining Newport and Manchester United Poole spent a period in the Cardiff youth set-up, so a move could be seen as a return of sorts to where it all started.
Sunderland
Sunderland have held a long-standing interest in Poole dating back several years. Only 6 months into his deal at Lincoln City The Black Cats attempted to buy him offering £500k + £250k in add-ons. Now the defender is available for free could they make another move?
QPR
Gareth Ainsworth will know Poole well having played against him several times with his Wycombe Wanderers side. The new boss will be looking to turn around his side’s fortunes after a disastrous campaign that saw them tumble down the table and even had some predicting possible relegation at times. With his first summer in charge, he will be hoping to mould the team in his image. Poole fits the “Ainsworth way” an honest hard working defender that will give his all for the team even when his side are struggling.
Swansea City
A few weeks ago this would have definitely been a no. Russell Martin wasn’t a huge fan of Regan Poole and shipped him out of the club at MK Dons. Now he is set to spend next season at Southampton it could open the door for a move to the Welsh side. Much like Cardiff, it would put him in a prime location to realise his ambitions of playing for the national side going forwards.
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