Walsall's 2025-26 season preview: Busy summer, areas to improve and young promise
Walsall will kick-off their seventh successive season in League Two when Swindon Town visit Bescot on August 2.
The Saddlers, who were runaway leaders in January, agonisingly missed out on automatic promotion in the final seconds of last season.
More heartache was to follow in a 1-0 defeat against AFC Wimbledon at Wembley in the League Two play-off final.
Now, Walsall are looking to turn over the page, and here are the main talking points ahead of the 2025-26 season.
What has changed at Walsall during the summer?
It's been a busy summer for Sadler and co. In total, Walsall have welcomed nine new faces and a further 10 have headed for the exit door.
The most significant departure saw hometown hero Taylor Allen secure a summer switch to Wycombe Wanderers in League One. Liam Gordon and Ryan Stirk also turned down new deals to join local rivals Port Vale and Chesterfield respectively.
David Okagbue also joined Peterborough United last week, while 36-year-old Aden Flint came into replace him.
Sadler released club captain Donervon Daniels, midfielder Jack Earing and out-of-favour striker Danny Johnson, while Oisin McEntee completed a move to Hearts at the end of his contract.
