Mat Sadler on Walsall transfer plans as January looms

Walsall have had more hits than misses on the transfer market during Sadler's reign over the past 18 months and the previous summer was no exception. 

Tommy Simkin, George Hall and Nathan Lowe have emerged as excellent finds on the loan market while Walsall have unearthed another gem from non-league with the signing of Connor Barrett from AFC Flyde. 

Fellow summer arrivals Charlie Lakin and Albert Adomah have also proven to be shrewd buys. And Sadler insists that the main focus remains on matters on the pitch but revealed that the club have had an eye on January since the last window slammed shut. 

Boss Sadler said: "As soon as September 1 rolled in, we've got in the back of our heads what happens in the next part. Without question there's a lot of conversations, monitoring and tracking that's going on so that we put ourselves in the best place to be prepared for what January brings. 

"I think the way that we do things with myself, Matt Jordan and the guys that work in the recruitment team. We try to be as prepared as we possibly can and I've spoken to you before about how me and Matt speak everyday. 

"We're speaking about things that we need to be preparing and planning for. That goes into then but unquestionably although there is always that planning that goes on, it's all about what happens in the next game and what comes after that."

The previous winter window heralded the signing of Jamie Jellis from Tamworth while the likes of Emmanuel Adegboyega, Mo Faal and Josh Gordon arrived on loan. 

The latter pair arrived to replace Freddie Draper, who scored 10 goals in the first half of the season, following his recall from Lincoln City, with Sadler and his recruitment team reacting quickly to bolster his attacking ranks. 

Sadler once again acknowledged that preparation will be key although highlighted in the case of Lowe that sometimes patience has its rewards. 

"We'll be as prepared as we possibly can be. That doesn't always mean that everything is going to go to plan because we live in a world of complete variables," he continued.

"As we saw in the summer window, the Nathan (Lowe) one rumbled on a lot longer than we thought it was going to and then meant that we were left a little bit short for a spell there. 

"But I'm a massive believer in trying as best as we can to go after what we want and I think it was the right thing to do."