It’s that time of year again to start thinking about potential arrivals and departures at Wycombe Wanderers, with the January transfer window right around the corner, and Michael Duff likely keen to improve his squad.

This means that inevitably, some players will have to be moved on to free up some space for the 47-year-old to bring in some of his new targets, and Wycombe certainly have a few who could well move on come January.

With that in mind, The Quartermen decided to look at the most likely candidates to depart Adams Park in the next month, whether it be through being recalled, sold, or loaned out.

Donnell McNeilly

There was plenty of excitement when young striker Donnell McNeilly arrived on loan from Nottingham Forest on summer deadline day, but the forward has struggled for minutes in the league, mainly having sporadic run outs from the bench.

The 20-year-old penned a three-year deal at the City Ground after leaving Chelsea, and immediately joined the Chairboys on loan, but hasn’t had the impact he would’ve hoped, with just two goals and one assist in 16 outings in all competitions.

With McNeilly missing entirely from matchday squads in recent weeks, it seems more likely than not that the youngster simply isn’t part of Duff’s plans going forward, and will likely be recalled by Forest in January to find a new club for the second half of the campaign.

Wycombe will likely be in the market for a new striker this winter, and with Cauley Woodrow, Bradley Fink, and even Sam Bell being preferred over him, there is no point keeping him at the club, as it will likely stall his development.

McNeilly has shown in glimpses that he’s a quality player, and will undoubtedly go on to have a great career. Unfortunately he simply isn’t what the Chairboys need right now, but hopefully he’ll be able to find a club where he can grow and thrive.

James Tilley

Again, this one feels fairly inevitable. James Tilley has barely got a sniff of an opportunity under Duff in the league, and with Wycombe eliminated from all cup competitions, it’s hard to see where he fits into the squad in the immediate future.

The left-sided player was Mike Dodds’ first signing as Wycombe head coach, joining on a two-year deal from newly-promoted AFC Wimbledon, with an option of a third. Similarly to McNeilly, he simply hasn’t had the desired impact at Adams Park.

Tilley has made just 13 appearances in all competitions for Wanderers, six of which came in League One, with his only goal for the Chairboys being a 90th minute equaliser against neighbours Reading back in September.

Of course, the 27-year-old still has plenty of time left on his contract at Wycombe, and is certainly a useful utility player to have around. However, if Wanderers are keen to clear space in their squad for new signings, you’d have thought he’d be one of the first on the chopping block.

A loan to a lower League One team or top League Two team could be a solid solution, as Tilley can go and get minutes under his belt, before Duff and co reassess his situation in the summer.

Fin Back

Fin Back was a shock deadline day signing last year, arriving from Nottingham Forest on a short-term deal, before penning a contract extension with the Chairboys in the summer.

The 23-year-old stunned on his Wanderers debut last season, putting in an excellent display in a 2-0 victory over Bristol Rovers, which would be his only appearance of the campaign, as he was sidelined for the rest of the season through injury.

Since his return, Back has barely featured under Duff, and isn’t making matchday squads, with just 11 appearances in all competitions this season. With that in mind, it’s likely he will want to be playing more regular football, which doesn’t look like it’ll come.

A loan deal away for the defender would likely be the best case scenario for all parties, as he can go elsewhere to get regular minutes and continue his development. There is quite clearly a very talented player in there, who just needs minutes to thrive.

Niall Huggins

Another exciting signing who simply hasn’t had the minutes throughout his time at Adams Park, it wouldn’t be surprising to see on-loan Sunderland right-back Niall Huggins recalled early from his time in South Buckinghamshire.

The Welshman joined the Blues on deadline day, in hope of finding consistent minutes following his return to action from a long-term injury. The deal saw him reunited with his former coach on Wearside Mike Dodds, but only for a matter of weeks.

Now Dodds is just a distant memory for most Wycombe supporters, Huggins’ playing time has been limited under Duff, with nine appearances and two assists to his name in all competitions.

The 25-year-old hasn’t been able to challenge Jack Grimmer for that starting right-back spot, and now Wanderers play in a flat four rather than with wing-backs, he maybe isn’t best suited to the system.

Again, it’s a real shame. Huggins is clearly a talented player, but he doesn’t fit the bill at Wycombe, and needs to go elsewhere and get consistent playing time as he continues down the path of recovery from his injury.

Bradley Fink

Personally, I really hope this one doesn’t happen, but with all players who aren’t getting the minutes they would’ve desired, one must weigh up the possibility of a player potentially looking for opportunities elsewhere.

Bought from FC Basel in the summer, the excitement surrounding Fink’s arrival in HP12 was palpable, but his time at the club thus far has been disappointing. The 22-year-old had to overcome early injury gremlins, which haven’t helped him with adapting to English football.

Fink has made just one league start for the Blues, with other appearances coming in cup competitions, where he bagged his first two goals for the club. You can’t help but feel he just hasn’t had the minutes in the league to try and stake his claim on a starting spot.

On his only start against Plymouth Argyle, the striker was singled out by his head coach for ‘failing to get into goalscoring positions’ as Wanderers drew a blank and lost to the Devon-based side. However, the service he had that game was extremely poor, and these comments seemed rather unfair, as it was a poor performance from the entire team, not just Fink.

Having not even played 200 minutes of football in the league after 23 matches, you can’t help but wonder whether Wycombe may consider sending him out on loan for the rest of the season, so he can get minutes in his legs and regain some of the confidence he’s clearly lacking.

Fink is a valuable asset for the future at 22, and it’s highly unlikely the Chairboys would sanction a permanent exit just six months into his time at the club, but he needs to be getting minutes to help with his development, whether that be at Wycombe or elsewhere.

Cauley Woodrow

Having three of Wycombe’s four deadline day signings on this list pretty much sums up their business on the last day of the summer transfer window, as the club rushed to plug gaps in the squad following a poor start to the season.

Veteran striker Cauley Woodrow was the first through the door, arriving on loan from League One rivals Luton Town, which was met with mixed reactions from supporters. He arrived with just seven league goals to his name in four years, which was hardly the return Wanderers were looking for.

The best way to describe Woodrow’s time at Adams Park would be solid, but unspectacular, with five goals and one assist in 21 outings in all competitions. His link-up play has been fairly useful, but that real lack of firepower in front of goal and not getting into enough goalscoring positions has been his downfall when leading the line.

Wycombe will be keen to add another striker to their ranks this winter, and with that in mind, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the 31-year-old’s loan spell cut short. You can’t help but feel his addition on deadline day was just a low-risk stop-gap for the Blues, so they could give themselves until January to land on their new forward.

Magnus Westergaard

Magnus Westergaard is, as far as public information goes, Wycombe’s record signing, having arrived in January 2025 from Viborg for a fee in the region of £800k, which was a fee many Wanderers fans would’ve never been able to even comprehend the club spending a few years ago.

There was huge excitement upon his arrival, but almost a year later, most of the Chairboys faithful still don’t know what type of midfielder the Dane actually is. Similarly to compatriot Anders Hagelskjaer, he took a while to become available for selection after his arrival, having joined the Blues in the off-season of the Danish Superliga.

Many expected Westergaard to play a big part in this season’s campaign, but that hasn’t been the case. The 27-year-old has just eight appearances to his name in League One, and has struggled to break into that midfield unit of Luke Leahy, Ewan Henderson, and Jamie Mullins.

The midfielder was given a make-or-break opportunity against Luton on Boxing Day, but failed to make an impression on the game, and was subject to criticism from some supporters on social media, which saw him left out of the squad entirely for the trip to Plymouth.

Westergaard is contracted until the summer of 2028, so still has plenty of time to come good, but again, sounding like a broken record, you don’t progress without minutes, and with George Abbott and Josh Scowen’s returns from injury, as well as the potential homecoming of Aaron Morley, game time will be much harder to come by for the Dane in the second half of the season.

Connor Taylor

Arguably the most disappointing signing of the summer, Connor Taylor has struggled hugely in his first six months at Adams Park, and has recently fallen out of favour under head coach Duff, with Dan Casey being given the nod next to Hagelskjaer.

The 24-year-old joined from Bristol Rovers in the summer for a fee understood to be in the region of £500k. Despite suffering relegation to League Two with the Gas, the defender was named the club’s Player of the Season, so there were high hopes that he would thrive at Wycombe.

However, that hasn’t been the case. He’s proven to be uncomfortable under pressure with the ball at his feet, and has made numerous defensive errors which have led to goals. Despite his high pass completion rate, many of these have been simple sideways or backwards passes, rather than progressive.

Taylor has also been caught out of position a few too many times, which earned him a red card in the FA Cup against Plymouth, and has also led to some rather soft goals being conceded.

It’s absolutely fine to have a more traditional old school stopper next to the ball-playing Hagelskjaer, that’s what Taylor is, but it seems his style of defender just doesn’t suit the system that Duff is using, and he may not be the right long-term partner for the Dane under this head coach.

Now he’s dropped out of the team for Casey and Wycombe will likely be eyeing up a new right-sided centre-back in the transfer window, Taylor could become surplus to requirements very quickly.

If this happens, you’d have thought the defender wouldn’t want to be sitting around not playing. Therefore he could potentially pursue a temporary exit from HP12 to prevent this, or the club may look to cut their losses, and move swiftly on.

Will Norris

A last-minute addition to this list, but one that now feels inevitable given his recent form, which has made his position in the squad almost untenable, having made four errors leading to goals in his last two matches.

Will Norris arrived from Portsmouth on deadline day last winter, but has been largely inconsistent for the Chairboys, with some excellent saves being overshadowed by some awful mistakes, which has once again left supporters doubting whether he should be the club’s first-choice goalkeeper.

In all honesty, it’s a pretty short debate. The mistakes against Luton and Plymouth are of course frustrating, but his lack of effort to even show the slightest bit of care for the second goal against the Hatters is really what sticks out, and his body language isn’t exactly indicative of someone who plays for the badge.

Duff doesn’t want to play Mikki Van Sas yet, which was evident after Norris kept his place for the Plymouth match after three howlers, so Wycombe could well dip into the market to find yet another experienced goalkeeper for the short-term.

If so, you’d get the feeling that Norris will most likely be moved on, as he won’t want to be playing second fiddle at this stage of his career. This was a signing that had the right ideas behind it, but ultimately hasn’t worked out the way anyone would’ve wanted.