Three loan recalls in just one day - but who needs to step-up for Walsall?
Walsall were hit with three loan recalls in just a matter of hours on Monday.
The transfer window is just six days old, but suddenly the task is looking much bigger for Walsall than it did at the start of January.
Dan Cox, Jid Okeke and Ryan Finnigan have headed back to their parent clubs to leave a number of gaps for Mat Sadler and his recruitment staff to plug.
It's clear that Walsall need to dip into the market for reinforcements, but who from the current squad also needs to step-up in their absence.
Connor Barrett
Barrett started the 2025-26 season in style - scoring a dramatic stoppage-time winner against Swindon Town on the opening day.
He scored again just a fortnight later in a 2-1 win at Barnet and extended his season tally to three with a sublime strike in an October draw at Crawley Town.
The 23-year-old has also weighed in with a pair of assists, but has not been directly involved in a single goal in League Two in any of his last 11 appearances.
Sadler described him as the best "wing-back in the division" just a few months ago, but Barrett has not quite been able to hit those heights in recent weeks.
His defensive game has improved since last season but his attacking play has become somewhat predictable of late.
In the wake of Okeke's departure, his attacking output from wing-back will be needed even more.
Evan Weir
Weir stepped out of the shadow of Taylor Allen following his six-figure switch to Wycombe Wanderers last summer.
The Irishman spent the majority of his debut season in England watching from a distance, but seized his chance when it finally arrived.
Scoring the Saddlers' first goal of the season with a sumptuous free-kick against Swindon, Weir added a classy brace to his tally in a 4-2 win over Tranmere in September.
But his performances have dropped over the winter, particularly during the back-to-back defeats against Oldham Athletic and Cambridge United respectively either side of Christmas.
Perhaps one of the reasons for that is because his position has never really been under threat and it will be even less so now after Dan Cox's loan was cut short by Derby County.
Rico Richards
Chances have been few and far between for Richards since joining on loan from local rivals Port Vale, especially in League Two.
Richards has played just 44 minutes across his three league cameos from the bench and has made all three of his starts in the EFL Trophy.
He had offered little sign of promise until scoring his first two goals for the club in the space of nine minutes in a 2-1 win at Stevenage at the start of December.
Illness has prevented him kicking on over the winter, but the upcoming cup games at Norwich in the FA Cup and Northampton Town in the EFL Trophy could present him with a chance to prove a point.
Walsall need somebody who is capable of offering goals after Finnigan returned to League One side Blackpool.
Jake Hollman will be another hoping that Finnigan's departure can open the door for him in the first team too.
