Appleton is the new Lincoln City manager after spells at West Bromwich Albion and Leicester City earlier this year.
Michael Appleton is onto his third job in less than six months, joining Lincoln City as manager after coaching spells at West Bromwich Albion and Leicester City.
Appleton is tasked with continuing the good work began by the Cowley brothers – who finally left for Huddersfield Town this month amid links to clubs including West Brom.
Although Lincoln City’s form has tailed off since then, the play-offs remain in reach. And their new boss’s higher-division connections could come in handy in the January transfer window.
But which of his former West Brom and Leicester colleagues – if any – could Appleton target at Sincil Bank?
HITC Sport takes a look…
Jack Fitzwater (West Bromwich Albion)
Only five League One sides boast worse defensive records than Lincoln City this season (although six of the 15 goals the Imps have conceded were scored by Oxford United on Saturday) and that part of the pitch could be Appleton’s priority. Fitzwater spent the bulk of the past two campaigns on loan in England’s third tier with Walsall and is likely to crave first-team football once again. The 22-year-old, who can play both right- and centre-back, is out of contract in the summer, increasing his chances of a move.
Bartosz Kapustka (Leicester City)
Natural width is one of the few areas in which Lincoln City, who must surely boast one of League One’s largest squads, could be considered short, with only Harry Anderson, Bruno Andrade and Jorge Grant to call on. And while the latter has, somewhat impressively, had a direct hand in six of the Imps’ 14 league goals this season, his colleagues have contributed to just two between them. Kapustka may have cost Leicester £4.5 million three years ago (Transfermarkt) but his stock has fallen considerably since then, after loan spells at SC Freiburg and OH Leuven – the latter of whom play in Belgium’s second tier. A serious knee injury hasn’t helped. But after his return to training earlier this month, the Poland international should be champing at the bit come the New Year and a loan spell in Lincoln could be ideal.
George Hirst (Leicester City)
The position in which Lincoln City posses arguably the least depth is centre-forward, where like his former Nottingham Forest teammate, Grant, Tyler Walker has scored or made six League One goals. Should anything happen to Walker then the Imps would only have John Akinde available. And Hirst – whose father, David, played with Walker’s, Des, at Sheffield Wednesday – could be a useful option to have in the season’s second half. The England youth international might not have been at Leicester at the same time as Appleton, but the new Sincil Bank boss would have known of him with Hirst’s previous club, OH Leuven, one of Leicester’s affiliates.
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