Cole Stockton was the subject of one of the transfer sagas of the summer, after departing Morecambe following serious financial issues at the club, eventually opting for Burton Albion. The striker now reportedly wants out, only months after joining, according to Alan Nixon.
Stockton was linked to a wide range of clubs in the summer of 2023, including Lincoln City, Bradford City, Charlton Athletic, Derby County amongst others. Despite this the 29-year-old opted to link up with Dino Maamria’s Burton Albion signing a two year contract. To date, he has only appeared six times for the club for a total of 239 minutes without return, playing 90 minutes just once in the opening day fixture against Blackpool. The player picked up a serious injury in the second game of the season, only recently recovering for short cameo appearances.
When asked why the club weren’t risking him on the pitch in the final few minutes of their game against Leyton Orient, Maamria had this to say with regards to his target man.
“But Cole has been out for a long time. He’d had a six-week break in the summer, then he had a good six-week pre-season. Then he broke down in the first week of the season and that sets you back months. With a muscular injury, if you force him back too soon and have a setback you can lose him for a long time.
“With a lot of games being Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday, he’s not had many full weeks of training. He had 45 minutes in the behind closed doors game against Sheffield United but this week has been his first full week of training.”
“He’s a top player and we’re all desperate to get him on the pitch but my job is to try and control it with the medical team and make sure we’re not risking it and making it worse,” said Maamria.
“He will play a lot of football for this club but, right now, we’re still trying to get his fitness up to speed I think he’s almost ready now to start some games but how long is he going to last those games? Ultimately, we want him to start games and to finish them.
Stockton has reportedly attracted the interest of fellow League One side Carlisle United, who are currently one of the lowest scorers in the league, with only Cheltenham Town and Exeter City scoring less after 17 games. They have only won one of their previous six games, with their only victory coming against Burton Albion in October.
Writer’s View
As a fan of a club that was linked to Stockton in the summer, this sends alarm bells. If it is true he has joined a club, got injured and not even really started yet and already wanting out, it indicates to me that there is a serious issue there. We are only in November, he has appeared six times to want out now is confusing. What is to say he won’t do the same at Carlisle?