Former Bradford City and Leeds United star Paudie O’Connor has been linked with a switch to the Championship from League One side Lincoln City, according to reports.
The Imps have been incredibly active in the transfer window so far, signing the likes of ex-Burnley defender Tendayi Darikwa, Shrewsbury Town midfielder Tom Bayliss, Cheltenham Town frontman Rob Street and Burton Albion fullback Tom Hamer, among others.
However, the Lincolnshire outfit have also lost a number of key players who helped the side achieve a seventh-place finish in the previous campaign. Goalkeeper Lukas Jensen completed his switch to Millwall for a reported £400,000, while Lasse Sorensen joined fellow third-tier side Huddersfield Town for a slightly higher figure.
Now, Lincoln defender O’Connor has been the subject of interest from teams in the Championship and League One. Football Insider’s chief reporter Pete O’Rourke has revealed that several teams in the division above and “top clubs” in the third tier are weighing up a move for the Irishman who boasts a market value of £316,000, as per Transfermarkt, and has entered into the final 12 months of his contract.
The club captain was vital for the Imps last season, especially once head coach Michael Skubala took the reins, but prior to his move to Sincil Bank, he was a key player at Bradford City. During his four-year stint with the Bantams – the first of which was on loan from Blackpool – O’Connor made 129 appearances for the club in all competitions and won the side’s Player of the Season award two campaigns in a row in 2021 and 2022.
Now at the age of 27, the centre-half’s performances with Lincoln have piqued interest from clubs with larger budgets looking for a solid defender in the EFL, although the report has not stated which teams are in the running.
Writer’s View
This could simply be agent talk. Lincoln City have already lost important players this summer like Jensen and Sorensen so it seems unlikely that the club would be willing to offload their skipper and first-choice centre-back without a ready replacement.
Nevertheless, money certainly talks. O’Connor is now into his last 12 months with the club, meaning a substantial offer from Bradford City could force the Imps to hesitantly accept, just as they did with Jensen and Sorensen who also had merely a year left on their contracts.
