Your questions: Is the loan market more of a hindrance than a help for Walsall?

This question was more tailored towards strikers, which is understandable, considering the past three or four seasons.

Walsall have had four potent loan men lead the line during that period: Danny Johnson, Freddie Draper, Nathan Lowe and Daniel Kanu.

Kanu was the only one to remain with Walsall beyond the January transfer window, and even then, his future became a topic of debate during the winter weeks.

Former head coach Mat Sadler described the loan market as a “risk and reward” business, rather than a necessary evil, and he had a point.

In reality, Walsall would struggle to attract players of the ilk of Draper, Lowe or Kanu - unless they delved into the loan market.

And the positive is that Walsall have operated pretty well on the loan market, even if there has still been the odd miss.

Emmanuel Adegboyega and Mo Faal had fruitful loan spells during the second half of Sadler’s debut campaign in 2023-24 - while George Hall impressed either side of his injury spell the following season.

Walsall have also landed two reliable loan goalkeepers in the form of Tommy Simkin and Myles Roberts over the past two seasons.

While Walsall can bring better quality in via the loan market, it has also allowed them to inspect prospective talent who are more realistic targets within their budget.

That was the case with David Okagbue when he joined on a season-long loan from Stoke City on transfer deadline day in September 2023.

He was by no means the finished article, but showed enough promise in his initial loan for Walsall to return with interest at the end of that season.

Okagbue turned down a new contract with his parent club Stoke City and penned a two-year deal with Walsall.

The Irish defender contributed to a club record nine-match winning streak in 2024-25 and helped propel them into a 12-point lead at the League Two summit.

His performances regressed during the second half of the campaign (although that was the case with many of his teammates), but he was still sold to League One side Peterborough United for a six-figure fee.

So, in answer to the initial question: the loan market is always a help if used intelligently, which Walsall have done on a number of occasions.

That is not to say that a club should solely rely on it. Kanu scored almost 27 per cent of the Saddlers’ 56 goals in League Two last term - while Lowe had scored 31 per cent of their league goals by the time of his recall in January 2025.

The challenge for any manager, which is easier said than done, is to strike a fine balance between permanent and loan players.

And from the evidence of the Saddlers’ early business, Lee Grant is looking to get permanent options on board, before he ventures more heavily into the loan market.