Walsall's hits and misses on the loan market under Mat Sadler

The departure of former loanee Nathan Lowe was perhaps the biggest talking point in the window, but Walsall will be hoping they can strike gold again following the loan arrivals of Nathan Asiimwe, Alfie Chang, Darius Lipsiuc, Ethan Wheatley and Ellis Harrison. 

Here, we take a look at the hits and misses on the loan market during Mat Sadler's reign so far.

Hits 

Nathan Lowe (from Stoke City)

Nathan Lowe is perhaps the shiniest gem of them all in terms of Saddlers stars to emerge from the loan market in recent seasons. 15 league goals and a further three in cup competitions is strong evidence of that alone.

In his time with Walsall, Lowe won the EFL young player of the month award for October and netted five goals in December to be named League Two player of the month at the turn of the year. 

The 19-year-old marked his Saddlers swansong with the final strike of his 18-goal haul during Walsall's 5-1 victory over Tranmere Rovers which set a club record eight-match winning streak. 

Walsall ultimately extended that run to nine the following weekend in the wake of his recall by Stoke City with a 4-2 success over MK Dons, but have collected just one point in the last three games since. 

Tommy Simkin (from Stoke City) 

Tommy Simkin is another Stoke academy product to rock up at the Bescot in recent times. The 20-year-old has been an ever-present between the sticks and has registered 11 clean sheets in League Two so far this season. 

In December, the England under-20 international became the first Walsall goalkeeper to keep five consecutive league clean sheets since February 1975.