Leyton Orient‘s summer transfer business has started to take shape over the past few weeks with three additions to the squad thus far.
The attacking duo of Charlie Kelman and Sonny Perkins have joined on loan from QPR and Leeds United, and Diallang Jaiyesimi has joined after his release from Charlton Athletic. The club have also lost attacker Ruel Sotiriou to Bristol Rovers for a ‘Bosman’ fee (due to being under 24), and Max Sanders to Crewe for an undisclosed fee.
Below are the positions I still think The O’s need to strengthen.
Goalkeeper – The Number 1
With Sol Brynn returning to Middlesbrough upon the expiry of his loan deal, The O’s may now be looking for a new number one with Sam Howes predominately being the number two last season with Rhys Byrne yet to make a league appearance.
Earlier in the window, there was a report by Alan Nixon that the club were interested in re-signing goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux from Burnley but with Scott Parker being appointed he may well be assessing all of his goalkeeping options before letting anyone leave the club.
A goalkeeper must be high on the agenda so that the backline can build confidence with each other and add some further competition for the number 1 jersey.
Right and Left Back
Covering two positions is both full-back positions. Currently, one right back Tom James and one left back Jayden Sweeney are contracted to the club after Rob Hunt was released at the end of the season.
Last season, Ethan Galbraith played at right back adding athleticism to the right-hand side of the pitch. Ethan is a versatile player who can play anywhere down the right-hand side as well as in the 8 or 10 midfield positions with his best being in one of those midfield positions, so in my opinion, we will likely see him there.
With how The O’s like to play, with one full-back going high and wide, they will need to offer that same athleticism, and having one on either side allows different dynamics to game situations.
Two Types of Central Midfielder
There is a need in my opinion for two different types of central midfielders for Orient. There is the Idris El-Mizouni replacement as well as a ball-carrying midfielder.
Idris was a key part of the midfield over the past two loan spells, not only in a ball-winning capacity but also in starting attacks with his dribbling ability. The departure of Max Sanders increases the need for more of a ball-carrying type midfielder as well as for squad depth which is something which is now lacking in midfield.
Currently Jordan Brown and Darren Pratley offer a more defensive-minded midfield option, academy graduate Zech Obiero, while he has had limited game time has shown quality on the ball but with this potentially being his first full season at the level another ball carrier must be added to the squad, to replace Idris as well as Max. This will allow Ethan and George Moncur to play higher up the pitch in the number 10 positions.
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