Lincoln City Set To Lose Key Player To League One Rivals

Lincoln City are set to lose midfielder Teddy Bishop to Charlton Athletic after he was named as a trialist in the Addicks pre-season friendly against Dartford this afternoon.

The 27-year-old saw his contract expire at the LNER Stadium at the beginning of the month, although the club confirmed that fresh terms had been offered when their retained list was announced at the end of the season.

Bishop had played a key role for the Imps since his arrival from Ipswich Town in 2021, scoring 15 times in 111 appearances. Comfortable in an array of positions across the midfield and front line, he featured prominently last season as Michael Skubala’s team launched a late assault on the play-off places.

Lincoln headed into the business end of the season of the campaign on an incredible 16-game unbeaten run. However, they suffered a blow in April when Bishop picked up an injury which ruled him out of the final four games. This ultimately proved costly, with defeats against Wigan Athletic and Portsmouth seeing them miss out on a place in the top six.

It now appears as if his time at Sincil Bank is at an end. This won’t come as too much of a surprise to supporters after CEO Liam Scully confirmed last month that they had likely seen the last of him, alongside teammate Danny Mandroiu:

“I think we’re coming to the end of conversations there,” he told BBC Radio Lincolnshire. “Quite candidly, we offered terms and at the time they weren’t deemed acceptable. We’ve provided an exclusivity period that’s running out.

“I don’t want to be too crass and unveil things that are too private and personal, but I would probably say in the balance of probability, it will be unlikely that we see either of those two in a Lincoln City shirt again.”

Bishop’s exit now appears all-but-confirmed after he was named as a starter in Charlton’s friendly against Dartford this afternoon. Speculation had mounted once the team sheet appeared on social media prior to kick-off, but his inclusion was confirmed by journalist Louis Mendez.

He could be the second ex-Lincoln player to join Nathan Jones’ team this summer after former loanee Alex Mitchell made the switch from Millwall earlier in the transfer window.

Writer’s View

Charlton are starting to build a team capable of competing in the upper reaches of League One next season. They’ve made some excellent signings over the course of the summer so far, although it is clear that Lincoln’s form during the second half of last season didn’t escape them unnoticed.

Snatching Bishop whilst also winning the race for Mitchell will only strengthen the Addicks, but it is a bitter blow for Lincoln. Michael Skubala will be pleased with his summer business so far, although losing a key player to a team that will be a direct rival next season will be hard to take.

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