Eight players that could be facing a London Road exit in January

Darragh MacAnthony has said from day one of Luke Williams’ reign that he will back the new manager in the January transfer window, but only if at least five players are moved on first.

Tuesday’s defeat highlighted some of the gaps in the squad Williams will likely want to fill.

To help him out I have picked eight players who I think could be on the way out, to create some of that space.

Photo credit: Joe Dent/Peterborough United

1. Will Blackmore

Ok let’s get the most obvious one out the way with.

Despite initial plans for Blackmore to be second choice keeper when last season ended, he quickly fell out of favour under Darren Ferguson.

Since falling ill during pre-season, he has only been named in one squad and is probably fourth choice these days. 

2. Vicente Reyes

A lot of my thoughts on Blackmore could also be applied to Nicholas Bilokapic, however I have a different angle I’d like to explore. 

Vicente Reyes’ loan deal was originally only until January and the times we have seen him play, he has failed to impress.

Extending the deal may not seem logical given we already have three senior goalkeepers on our books, Bilokapic being one of them.

The Australian has been seen twice warming up with the squad pre-game implying Williams is open to giving him a chance. If there is no interest in signing him from other clubs, he would be in our squad until the summer anyway.

If Williams believes Bilokapic is good enough to be a back up to Alex Bass, letting Reyes go back to Norwich would be a reasonable way to free up some wage cap space.

3. Chris Conn-Clarke

I think this will hurt a portion of Posh fans. 

When Conn-Clarke joined from Altrincham, there was a lot of excitement about a player being described as a maverick and compared to the likes of Lee Tomlin, who played in a similar position and also came from non-league.

It never really worked out for Conn-Clarke and whilst I believe that he would have been given a fair shot under Williams had he not been on loan at Carlisle, he seems to have settled with The Cumbrians and it sounds like Darragh is confident of making a profit on him.

4. Ryan de Havilland

Similar to Conn-Clarke, de Havilland was initially in the plans this season before finding himself in Fergie’s ‘Bomb Squad.’

Unlike Conn-Clarke however, de Havilland had the opportunity to show Luke Williams what he is capable of when he was given a start against Crawley in the Vertu Trophy.

Whilst his performance wasn’t terrible, it was clear that de Havilland’s ability is some way away from the current midfielders, especially given that even Matthew Garbett couldn’t secure a starting position on Tuesday night.

5. George Nevett

I must make it clear that I believe this will be a loan deal, not a sale. 

George Nevett’s injury against Blackpool was very poorly timed. He was in great form up until that moment, and in his absence, Tom O’Connor and Tom Lees have only conceded one goal whilst playing in a back four.

There have been concerns from Posh fans that Nevett is not capable of playing in a back four due to his lack of pace and inexperience. 

With Luke Williams appearing to prefer a back four and Sam Hughes’ imminent return from injury, Nevett may find he is fourth or even fifth choice.

A loan spell could really help him develop and also trim down the squad size.

6. Klaidi Lolos

I’ve had to think about this one, as I think one of him or Donay O’Brien-Brady will end up staying. 

Naturally you’d assume Lolos would be the one that stayed with him only signing at the end of the summer window, however, I personally can’t think of a reason why we’d want to keep him.

We are his sixth permanent club in six years and he is four years senior to O’Brien-Brady. 

O’Brien-Brady managed to score after being brought off the bench against Crawley, and also earnt a spot on the bench against both Stockport and Stevenage, something Lolos has not managed to do.

7. Carl Johnston

Carl Johnston wasn’t a disaster of a signing, however a few eyebrows were raised when Peter Kioso joined Posh on loan in the same position. 

Similar to de Havilland, Johnston doesn’t have the same quality as the player currently starting in his position while an argument could also be made that James Dornelly’s style of play is more suited to how Luke Williams likes to play.

A positive to keeping Carl Johnston could be to provide back up to Harley Mills with both Rio Adebisi and Jacob Mendy injured.  

But, if Johnston still holds a reasonable transfer value, I believe selling him would be a sensible option if it means getting a natural left back in to compete with Mills instead.

8. Abraham Odoh

Odoh has started every game under Williams so far and despite me praising his work rate against Stockport, I believe his game time has been through necessity rather than choice. 

Kyrell Lisbie has started his career at Posh extremely well and is four years younger than Odoh. 

It would be very difficult to look at a player like Lisbie and not assume there are similar players out there that could come in and outperform Odoh and for a smaller fee too.

With Declan Frith back from injury, Odoh is likely to be the third choice winger at Posh and maybe even fourth choice once Cian Hayes returns.

Matthew Garbett can also play as a wide option and Brandon Khela scored a goal whilst playing on the right wing against Stockport.

Selling Odoh whilst he still has a reasonable transfer value could be a great decision for the January bank balance and I feel the wing is the one position we could make the biggest improvement to in the squad.

Final thoughts

Luke Williams has encouraged some excellent performances from the majority of players he has used so far during his reign. 

But I believe allowing these to leave may allow him to acquire some more competition at left back, on the wing and in attacking midfield and really raise the bar going into the second half of the season.