Exeter City have been tipped by many, including us at The Real EFL, to be relegated this season after they have lost a noticeable amount of quality and not been able to replace it, due to budgetary restrictions, over the last 12 months. But, they look set to bring in a high-calibre attacker, if reports are to be believed.
Kieran Sadlier Set To Join Exeter City
Football League World have exclusively revealed that the Grecians are set to complete the signing of 30-year-old versatile attacker Kieran Sadlier.
The former West Ham United youth prospect spent the last two seasons with Wycombe Wanderers, making 60 appearances whilst scoring eight goals and providing eight assists for his teammates. However, most of these appearances, and goal contributions, came in the 2023/24 campaign, where he played 45 times for the Chairboys.
Last season, injuries limited Sadlier to just 15 appearances, totalling less than 1000 minutes, in all competitions. At the start of the campaign, he looked like he would be a key part of Matt Bloomfield’s plans, as he started regularly between August and early October. But, from that point onwards, he played just 33 minutes of football after needing to have an operation due to a hernia.
Although his minutes were severely limited, the former Republic of Ireland under-21 international still showed some promise last season. He scored more goals per 90 than 91.8% of left wingers in League One and he created more assists per 90 than 98.4% of his peers.
The 30-year-old has made just under 150 appearances in the third tier in total, scoring 24 goals in that period, whilst he also has a wealth of experience in the League of Ireland Premier Division.
Where May He Fit In At Exeter City?
Exeter City do not have many natural left-wingers in their squad.
The likes of Sonny Cox and Jayden Wareham, who are natural strikers, could be shuffled into a deeper role, or Ryan Rydel and Ilmari Niskanen, who are largely wing-backs, could be pushed slightly further forward.
But, it should be noted that the Grecians do not always use a system which involves wingers, so strengthening those areas may not be a substantial problem. Sadlier is also comfortable playing in attacking midfield, and he could even be used as part of a strike duo at a push, meaning there should be room for him at St James Park.
Writer’s View
If Gary Caldwell and co. are able to keep Sadlier fit, he has the raw quality to be able to single-handedly fire Exeter City to survival.
But, this is an extremely big ‘if’. In his 10-year senior career, Sadlier has never played over 2,513 minutes in a league season, and this lack of fitness and consistency is what has stopped him from playing regularly in higher divisions.
