League Two play-off hopefuls Chesterfield have announced the signing of two wingers on the same day.
Michael Olakigbe has joined on loan from Premier League Brentford until the end of the season, while Dylan Duffy has signed permanently from League One Lincoln City only four days after joining on loan.
The short-term signing of the young Irishman was announced on Monday and he went straight into the starting lineup for Tuesday’s 3-0 win over Bromley and impressed with an assist, which has led to the Spireites turning the deal into a permanent one.
Olakigbe was recently recalled from another loan spell with Wigan Athletic, where he scored once in 18 appearances in all competitions.
Quick impression made
Manager Paul Cook must have seen something in Duffy during training and the Bromley match to make him act quickly to secure the winger on a permanent deal.
Starting at left-wing on Tuesday night, the 22-year-old showed promise with his pace and also assisted Armando Dobra’s opening goal, leading Cook to say: “He is a great age, great profile, great left foot, really good qualities to work with, settled into the group so well. His performance on Tuesday night gave our supporters just a glimpse that potentially there is a really good player in there.”
After signing for the Imps in January 2023, the former Shamrock Rovers academy player made 61 appearances in all competitions and contributed three goals and three assists.
However, he struggled for regular game, which was the reason in being loaned out to the Spireites in the first place.
Having signed a contract until 2027, Duffy will set his sights on becoming one of the best wingers in League Two and earning a move higher up the divisions.
Lincoln clearly saw his potential and have inserted a “significant guaranteed fee and a very significant sell-on” into the deal with the Spireites.
The Irishman will now be competing with Dobra and Ryan Colclough for the left-wing position in what is now a very stacked front-four in Chesterfield’s 4-2-3-1 formation.
More youthfulness
Alongside the signing of Duffy, 20-year-old Olakigbe provides the Spireites with fresh talent to work with, which Cook has proven he can develop so many times.
One example of this is James Berry, who departed the Blues this month to move up to League One Wycombe Wanderers after only arriving from then-eighth tier Macclesfield in summer 2023.
Berry showed his skill with some high-quality finishes in the first half of this season, especially against Crewe Alexandra and Harrogate Town, and will be a player that both Olakigbe and Duffy will hope to follow.
The former is highly-thought of enough at Brentford to have made eight Premier League appearances last season, alongside playing five matches in League One whilst on loan at Peterborough United.
The London-born winger will most likely operate on the opposite side to Duffy and will aim to take the place of Liam Mandeville, who has most recently held the right-wing position.
However, Cook has other options there in the form of Michael Jacobs, Bailey Hobson and Ollie Banks who have all played in that role either this season or last, so Olakigbe will need to make an immediate impact to lock down the right-wing position.
The signing of the loanee further adds to the youthfulness in attack for the Spireites, who now have Dobra, Hobson, Duffy, Olakigbe, Kane Drummond and Bim Pepple who are all younger than 25 and are capable of playing in some, if not all, of the front four positions.
Sensible recruitment for necessary positions
The Spireites have had to dip into the transfer market a lot more than usual for them in January due to a collection of injuries, loanees being recalled and promising prospects being sold on.
Olakigbe and Duffy became the Derbyshire club’s fifth and sixth signings of a month that has seen Berry leave as well as Dilan Markanday, who impressed on loan from Blackburn Rovers and scored six goals before being recalled and sent on loan to higher level Leyton Orient.
Due to injuries to experienced strikers Will Grigg and Paddy Madden, who has now returned, 22-year-old Bim Pepple was brought in on loan after impressing in the National League for Southend United.
Injuries in defence to Lewis Gordon, Tyrone Williams, Ash Palmer, Harvey Araujo and Devan Tanton forced Cook to sign full-back Jack Sparkes on loan from Peterborough, as well as centre-backs Janoi Donacien and Kyle McFadzean, who unfortunately suffered a significant injury in his second appearance, on free transfers.
Cook and his recruitment team have been backed well by owners Ashley and Phil Kirk and have made sure to sign suitable players in each position, providing the side with a healthy mix of experience and youth to add to an already successful squad who won the National League title last season.
With Chesterfield sitting in ninth position, six points outside the play-off spots, fans, players and coaches alike will be hoping for a late push into the top seven which could see them achieve back-to-back promotions and return to the third tier for the first time in eight years.