The door has slammed shut for League One, and Wycombe Wanderers like every club have been active. Michael Duff’s team, currently floating just outside of the playoff battle we’re looking to strengthen in a few key areas while also reducing the size of the team overall.
Led by new Director of Football Strategy Tom Stockwell, in his first full window he’s had time to plan for, Wycombe made a few targeted transfers in comparison to the past three windows as they sought evolution, not revolution, to add some quality to a stable team that’s shown signs of life and ability to fight.
Full List of Transfers:
In:
Luke Harris (Loan)
Nathan Lowe (Loan)
Aaron Morley (£750k)
Andre Vidigal (Free Transfer)
Out:
Sam Bell (Recalled)
George Abbott (Recalled)
Donnell McNeilly (Recalled)
James Tilley (Loaned Out)
Fin Back (Loaned Out)
Magnus Westergaard (Undisclosed)
Outs:
Perhaps the largest outgoings for Wycombe are the two midfielders in loanee George Abbott and Magnus Westergaard, as well as winger Sam Bell.
George Abbott has shown undeniable quality when he played for the Chairboys, but struggled with injuries and fitness. You can be the best player in the world, but in a League with 46 games, availability is the best ability. Had he stayed fit, he would have likely made a much larger impact, however he returned to Tottenham and has since been loaned out to fellow League One side Mansfield Town.
Bell was recalled by Bristol City immediately upon the opening of the window, however the return of the winger was a possibility.
However, the Robins’ sale of fellow attacker Anis Mehmeti to Ipswich Town and loan of Harry Cornick to Stevenage, Bell became more of a necessary squad option for Bristol City and a transfer was not able to be agreed. As Wycombe’s top scorer when he left, and the Chairboys current second top goalscorer (With Fred Onyedinma now on 7 goals), his attacking impetus has been sorely missed.
Meanwhile Magnus Westergaard was a curious case, a heavy signing from Viborg, the Great Dane never really found his feet at Wycombe, perhaps unlucky the manager who chose to sign him would leave just days before his signing was confirmed.
Under a succession of managers in Sam Grace, Mike Dodds and Duff, he never got a run out, and too was hampered by injuries and competition in the position. There is definitely a player there, however we never saw the best of him at Wycombe, and he goes to Vålerenga as a disappointing miss hit from the new recruitment team, and one we’ll hope won’t be repeated in the future.
Donnell McNeilly was too recalled by Nottingham Forest, but to no major clamour. He had featured periodically but while promising was extremely raw, and needed more gametime that Wycombe could offer to develop. Not a major miss.
Both James Tilley and Fin Back went out on loan too, to Wimbledon and Colchester United respectively. Neither had garnered much gametime in the first half of the season, and allowing both to go out on loan seems the sensible option. Back, at 23, also needs regular gametime to improve so a loan out allows him to continue developing with an eye on first team football next season.
In essence, Wycombe shed many fringe players who hadn’t got much gametime under Duff, and only Bell is truly missed for his impact. It allowed Wycombe to both create a more compact squad as a whole to focus on the playoff push, and to remove fringe players in favour of others who could strengthen the team similarly.
Ins:
Aaron Morley, the one who got away. An important cog of Matt Bloomfield’s promotion push with the Chairboys, curiously enough when given the choice between signing Morley on a permanent in that winter window he was recalled, or targeting Westergaard, “Mr Wycombe” instead chose Westergaard.
So went the story, after that window Wycombe were again in talks to sign the midfield for Dodds in the summer of 2025, but in January 2026, Wycombe finally got their man.
Only Ewan Henderson has the same qualities of Morley in the club, with Morley capable of dropping deep, bringing the ball out of defence, and dictating the tempo of play through the middle.
Whilst unlikely to win promotion on his own, he marks a clear strengthening of the teams midfield.
Andrew Vidigal, too, joined the Chairboys as a permanent transfer. Following his release from Stoke City he had been training with Duff’s squad and was announced on deadline day.
Quick, direct, with a history of popping up at the back post for goals, Vidigal could turn out to be a very strong signing if he can hit the ground running. At worst, he’ll be a strong option off the bench as a winger on both sides, going into the back end of games, sending the fear of god into tired defenders with legs full of energy.
Loanee Luke Harris has also played on the wings for the Chairboys following his move from Fulham, but is more comfortable as a 10.
Importantly, Harris offers another profile as a 10, unlike Ewan Henderson, Alex Lowry and Jamie Mullins. Comfortable running behind defenders and onto through balls, if Michael Duff decides to return to the 5-2-2-1 which he has used occasionally, he would allow for two natural 10s with different profiles behind a striker in Cauley Woodrow, Bradley Fink or even Fred Onyedinma up front.
Lastly, loanee Nathan Lowe of Stoke City will be the last player to arrive due to his injury while picked up at Stockport County. An out and out 9 with a solid record of goalscoring, Lowe could prove to be a major asset in the backend of the season if Wycombe keep themselves in the promotion fight.
The only question worth asking on Lowe, is why Wycombe feel the need for a new number 9, especially one who’s going to be at the club for just a few months, when 22 year old Bradley Fink has been sat on the bench for much of the Chairboys campaign, while Cauley Woodrow continues to start despite a weak goalscoring record.
If it works, fans will happily turn a blind eye to this conundrum, but if it doesn’t, then questions will be asked about this plan of attack.
Overall, it was a strong crop of incomings for the Chairboys, one long term target finally joining the club, and three short term options to provide a boost to a promotion fight. On the other hand, Wycombe largely managed to keep its outgoings to fringe players, only losing one important player in Bell and directly replacing him with Vidigal.
