The King is dead. Richard Kone has joined Queens Park Rangers in a £5 million deal.

Few could begrudge this given the rapid nature of his assent to the EFL and his 18 goal season in 24/25, but his departure does leave a massive hole in attack.

Wycombe have created 5.4xg (expected goals) so far in the league, but have scored just twice in open play. Dan Udoh is industrious and has scored one goal so far this season, but has struggled to get on the end of Wycombe chances.

Bradley Fink, meanwhile looked promising on his debut but has subsequently picked up another knock following one in pre-season, only playing 10 minutes in the season so far.

As such, the talented but raw Cameron Stones started for Wycombe in the EFL Trophy such is the dearth of strikers at the club. While it is undoubtedly exciting to see academy talents getting gametime, it is also hardly ideal for a club professing to harbour ambition to reach the Championship.

As such, we’re going to look at some strikers Wycombe should really consider going for this summer.

Option One: Sinclair Armstrong, Bristol City, 22 Years Old

The talented and explosive Sinclair Armstrong has struggled at Bristol City. Since a £3 million move from Queens Park Rangers, he’s gotten just 3 goals in 38 appearances for the Robins.

Bristol City are reportedly willing to cut their losses on the young Irishman, and it could be an opportunity for any number of clubs, including Wycombe.

While he is not a clinical striker, at 22 he has plenty of time to develop, and a move down to League One could be the perfect opportunity for him to get regular gametime in a stable environment.

Option Two: Alassana Jatta, Notts County, 26 Years Old

If you’re looking for a clinical striker, look no further than Alassana Jatta. Having joined Notts County from Viborg in the winter window of 2024, the Gambian striker has notched an impressive 27 league goals in 53 league games.

Like Kone, he’s out of contract this summer so Notts could be tempted to sell now to prevent losing him for nothing next summer, and statically speaking (Dodds delighted) would add a real spark to Wycombes attack.

He managed .64xg (expected goals) per match, notched an impressive 80.6% pass accuracy rate, and importantly can get in to good positions in the box in a variety of ways, primarily arriving into low crosses into the box, or dribbling himself into good shooting opportunities with a 55.1% dribble success rate.

He would offer something different to Fink and Udoh, which is perhaps increasingly important to have.

Option Three: Premier League U-21 loanee, 18-21 years old

There’s plenty of Premier League academy players who could be brought in temporarily to provide some impetus in attack.

Dane Scarlett of Tottenham is one such option, having struggled on loan at Oxford United in the Championship, a L1 move could help him develop.

West Ham’s Callum Marshall would also be a good move, having matriculated at Huddersfield Town last season, but has appeared on the bench for West Ham in the Premier League and could well be called upon given the injury histories of Callum Wilson and Nicolas Fullkrug.

However, Dodds has seemed less comfortable with loans, only bringing in George Abbott on loan, and there’s always the risk of the player simply not being ready. For every Freddie Potts, there’s a Kian Breckin.

But with 2 weeks to go until the end of the window, there will be plenty of Prem clubs looking at loans for their academy players. One to keep an eye on.

Option Four: Will Evans, Mansfield Town, 28 Years Old

One on the older side, which may strike at odds with Wycombes current strategy of players in the 20-26 age range for future resell value.

Evans would undeniably offer a solid option up front however, and would offer a far more robust and physical presence than Jatta or an academy loanee.

14 goals and 2 assists for struggling Mansfield is truly nothing to scoff at, and is excellent at winning the ball back at front, winning an impressive 73.8% of his tackles, 92 ball recoveries and 16 interceptions last season.

Option Five: Sam Smith, Wrexham, 27 Years Old

An expensive option, but a very tempting option nonetheless.

Smith has played so far for Wrexham off the bench, with the Welshmen spending heavily as per usual on a variety of strikers yet again.

Nathan Broadhead, Kieffer Moore and Ryan Hardie have joined the club this summer, pushing Smith’s gametime down the pecking order.

I don’t really need to speak about stats, expected goals or whatever with Smith, he’s a cracking striker at the League One level and scores goals wherever he’s at.