Recruitment Plans For Hereford

 'Off The Line Blog' has posted an article about players they feel could interest Hereford manager Paul Caddis.

Player Recommendations

Goalkeeper – Owen Foster (Hull City – free transfer)

One position in which Hereford do look light in going into 2025-26 is goalkeeper. They had Theo Richardson on loan from AFC Fylde towards the back-end of the campaign and he is now available after being let go by The Coasters, but while a re-signing may well be the obvious choice for Paul Caddis, I think there is one option that I think may well be attainable that may represent a smart acquisition for The Bulls and has the potential to be amongst the best in his position in the league; Hull City’s Owen Foster.

The young Hull City goalkeeper initially made a name for himself during his time with Scunthorpe United in which he was one of the standout performers in an otherwise poor Iron side, and he won individual awards and recognition off the back of which he got a move to Hull City. He got opportunities at a very early age to play regular football with Iron in the National League, and that has allowed him to develop perhaps at an above linear rate to what you’d normally see for a player of his age. While not extensively, he has played games in League Two and in the National League, yet is still only 20 years of age.

Foster finished the 2024-25 campaign out on loan with Torquay United, yet failed to make a single appearance with The Gulls. In 2025-26, I think that he will want to go and find himself an opportunity where he is going to be playing regularly and hold down the position as a #1, and so I think that Hereford is a good option for the youngster.

Left Back – Carter Lycett (Bromsgrove Sporting – free transfer)

While The Bulls have retained the services of Lewis Hudson, I think that Paul Caddis will want to try and add some competition to his side at left-back. When doing these pieces, one thing that I am always going to be a big advocate for is signing players from a lower level that are capable of making the step. As such, one player that I think The Bulls should look at is Carter Lycett of Bromsgrove Sporting.

One avenue that I always think non-league sides should try and do is sign the best talent local to them, and in the form of Lycett they have got one of the best young full-backs at the level sat on their proverbial doorstep and having proven himself with Southern League Central side Bromsgrove Sporting.

In terms of the type of player that Lycett is, he very much fits in the mould of being your modern day full-back. An attacking, front-foot, energetic, athletic full-back that played just shy of 3,000 minutes for Bromsgrove Sporting last year, and so provides Hereford with more of an offensively-minded, up-and-down type. He is only 22-years-old, and so he gives an option for Hereford that they can develop in the long-term.

As a player that can step up to the level, the adage of being initially an understudy as a #2 option for The Bulls will perhaps allow him the lower-pressure environment that he needs to be able to adjust more naturally to the National League North. He may represent a bit of a gamble given that he has not played at the level albeit I would caveat that by the fact that every signing is a gamble, and signing a player that has shown he is talented is no more so a gamble than any other. For me, I think he would be worth a look.

Centre-Back – Tom Leak (Boston United – free transfer)

They often talk about “good omens”, and signing players that have experience of being in successful teams for the level. And, in the case of Tom Leak, I think that Hereford could do a lot worse than to sign the former Chester centre-back. He is available on a free transfer after being let go by Boston United, and I think he is a good option.

Leak finished the 2024-25 campaign on the books of National League North side Chester, and it was a defeat in the final of the play-offs that stopped the defender from making it a hat-trick of successive promotions from the division having been previously promoted with Kidderminster Harriers and Boston United in recent campaigns. The Bulls want to challenge for the top seven in 2025-26, and so adding a player of Leak’s experience and track record at the level could be invaluable in providing The Bulls with bit of nous and leadership that they need to be able to scale similar heights themselves next season; he’s certainly a safe pair of hands in the sixth tier. 

The defender is 24 years of age. He was a regular – making 30 appearances – in 2023-24 as Boston United won promotion to the National League, and came through the academy at nearby Walsall. 

Leak is a no-nonsense, aggressive, aerially strong defender that does the basics well, yet he is also comfortable on the ball and so allows The Bulls to progress the ball through the thirds into midfield. He has a nice balance to his play in being able to switch between being more of a safety-first, somewhat old-fashioned centre-back type, as well as having the composure to play out. I would imagine that quite a few sides that are aiming to be near the top end of the division that will have a look at Leak, and so he would be quite the coup for The Bulls.

Central Midfield #1 – Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba (Aston Villa – loan)

While The Bulls have re-signed Preston Bitemo, one thing that I would like to see Hereford sign this summer is a tall, rangy, powerful, box-to-box player that is able to contribute offensively and get the team up the pitch; I feel that they have not had that this term. For me, the standout candidate that I have looked at is a player who may not be a household name given the hasn’t played much football at senior level, yet a hugely talented player; youngster Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba.

The youngster is currently on the books of Aston Villa, and is only 18 years of age. I think that a loan out in professional football would do him a lot of good in terms of his development, and so I think The Bulls should try and make a move for him in providing them the added energy, athleticism and power to their play that they’d welcome to go alongside what they have currently got at their disposal.

Originally from Birmingham, Jimoh-Aloba is an attacking midfielder by trade, yet he has got such lovely physical qualities in terms of his size and engine that I feel he is more than capable of being used as more of an #8 than a #10 whereby he can be used in a slightly deeper role to pick the ball up either off the backline or from the likes of D’Ath or Labadie and then drive the ball through the thirds where he can then distribute the ball into the forward players.

He has good pedigree as a current England Under-18 international, and while he is in a good academy whereby there is a lot of emphasis of being able to play in the right way, I think that going out on loan and playing in a combative and notoriously tough division such as the National League North will provide him with a challenge that is conducive to his development. It would be a bit of a coup if they were able to land him given that he may want to look higher, but if they can get him with the adage of it being his first loan then I would be going all out to land the midfielder.

Central Midfield #2 – Joss Labadie (Solihull Moors – free transfer)

With Tate Campbell a player that I felt may depart the club during the summer as a result of having a stellar 2024-25, The Bulls will be looking to try and find a new #6 that can sit at the base of midfield and provide the powerful, combative profile that Campbell offered this side. The standout candidate that I think they should go for is experienced midfielder Joss Labadie.

Let go by Solihull Moors at the end of the 2024-25 campaign, Labadie provides a tough-tackling, combative, imposing figure that is at his best – I feel – when he is able to sit behind the ball and use his intelligence and physical qualities to win the ball back, turn over possession and provide a shield for the backline. He has had to adapt his game slightly in recent years, going from the explosive, front-footed, aggressive, box-to-box midfielder that he was at Newport County to more of the organiser and leader that can provide the glue in midfield; the later is what Caddis needs if Campbell is to depart.

Given that his last two clubs have seen him playing his stuff in the Midlands with Walsall and Solihull Moors, I think that at his age (34) he is likely to want to stay fairly local to home and won’t want to move. Playing for Hereford in the National League North is an opportunity for him to do that, and so I feel it would be a good option for The Bulls to consider. He may not be the most technical with the ball in progressing it from deep, but one thing that he does do is provide balance, vocal leadership qualities and a professionalism that will be key in being able to drive a high standard they need when going for the play-off places as The Bulls will be in 2025-26.

Winger – Jordan Shipley (Shrewsbury Town – free transfer)

While Hereford have some good wing options at their disposal already, I think that Paul Caddis will be looking to add another option in that area of the pitch. For me, they’ve got some good transitional players with pace and power, but I think they could do with perhaps a more experienced and cultured wide player. While it may be ambitious – given that he has only just been released by a side who played in League One in 2024-25 – I think that they should make a move for Jordan Shipley.

The winger was let go by Shrewsbury Town at the end of the season having made just 24 appearances in all competition for The Shrews in 2024-25; in the league, he played very much a bit-part role with just the 19 games to his name. From the player that was flying metaphorically with Coventry City in his hay day, Shipley is someone that has perhaps had a bit of a slower season by his usual standards in the campaign just gone and many Town fans said that it was the right decision to let go of him at the end of the season given that he is no longer the player whom they signed in 2022.

I think that he needs a move to help him re-find his mojo, and so going to Hereford may well be a good option. He’s best playing off the left-hand side where he can use his close control and technical trickery to bamboozle defenders as he used to do in Coventry City colours.

Shipley is 27 years of age still, and so this would represent a coup for The Bulls to be able to pull it off, however every side has to have one marquee signing every year and so I am going to put this to be Hereford’s. He had a below-par campaign in 2024-25, but I think that joining a Hereford side that is very much on Shipley’s proverbial doorstep and who are aiming for promotion from the National League North may well be a project that is attractive to him.

Attacking Midfielder – Kyle Belmonte (Worcester City – free transfer)

When I started putting together my Hereford transfer piece, one player that was a shoe-in as the first name on the list and someone I have been banging the drum for the last two years as an option for The Bulls and a player who should – and could – be playing higher in the pyramid is Worcester City’s Kyle Belmonte. And, if The Bulls want to get themselves a new attacking midfielder then I don’t think they should look much further than the Worcester Frank Lampard.

Belmonte earnt that title from me given the stylistic similarities that he shares with Frank Lampard. He is a player that makes clever runs into the box from deep, breaks the lines, has an eye for goal (having hit double figures for goals in 2024-25) and has a good engine to be able to arrive onto the play. He has a strong passing range and progressive with it, good technically, creative, intelligent in possession and capable of receiving the ball in tight areas on the turn.

There is something about Kyle Belmonte which I just love. He plays the game with such an energy and a character that is so infectious. I am a big advocate of signing players that play with personality, that take risks, and that play with such a swagger and confidence. He is a player that strikes me as being such a charismatic and infectious personality that I would imagine could do wonders for a dressing room in just giving them that extra lift. There is something unquantifiable about in terms of using statistics to describe it, but he’s got a special endearing and highly watchable quality to him. He is someone that plays with a real smile on his face, and that positivity comes across in how he plays.

He comes off the back of winning promotion with Worcester City in 2024-25, and so this may be a slightly more problematic deal to negotiate given that he is already going to have the chance to test himself at a higher level in 2025-26 if he were to stay with Worcester City. Yet, I think that he is that good he could step up again and if The Bulls were able to land him then I genuinely believe that they would  be getting a player who is capable of being one of the best in his position as a #10 in the division.

Striker #1 – Manny Duku (Solihull Moors – free transfer)

One area of the pitch in which I feel Hereford need to do a fair bit of work this summer is in finding a new #9. And, I must admit that I have slightly surprised myself in who I have gone for as I wouldn’t have gone for him if you’d have asked me last summer. I found that I was  suitably impressed during the brief spell he played at Solihull Moors that I think he would actually be an under-the-radar suggestion for The Bulls; Dutch forward Manny Duku.

One profile that Hereford have visibly missed this season is a player who has the size and physicality to lead the line. Andy Williams is an intelligent forward – albeit ageing – and Jason Cowley has had his injury problems and is perhaps better-suited to being a backup option, and so I think that they need that player who has the size, stature, physique and aerial qualities to be the main #9 for The Bulls. They have lots of tricky players outside of the striking position, but they need that back-to-goal, mobile presence to play off.

Duku is an imposing figure at 6ft 2in and is a good athlete. Strong in the air, a great leap on him and the energy in the press to close down the defenders, and is capable of receiving the ball either into his feet or chest and can play on the run. He is 32 years of age and so represents a “tried and trusted” option for Hereford in that he knows how to occupy defenders, make good use of his frame to protect and shield the ball and a threat from crosses.

He was let go by Solihull Moors at the end of the 2024-25 campaign, and so he will be no doubt looking to try and get another deal either in the National League or within one of the three National League divisions. I think that he could represent an astute capture for The Bulls in providing them with a player that is experienced at the level above and who gives them the profile they’ve been missing, and so while he may not be the most prolific and there’s been the odd question mark over him in the past, I think that The Bulls could do a lot worse than sign the former Wealdstone front man.

Striker #2 – Callum Ebanks (Stratford Town – free transfer)

The final player on this list that I have gone for is someone that I have spoken in glowing terms about before on the blog is Stratford Town’s Callum Ebanks. He’s been – in my opinion – one of the best forwards outside of the National League divisions in the last few years and has been deserving of a move higher up the pyramid, and I think that this is the summer when he should take up that chance to indeed test himself within the National League.

One of the key boxes that I tried to tick when doing these pieces for each of the sides is identify areas and positions within the squad in which they are perhaps lacking, or skillsets which they don’t necessarily have. And, when I’ve watched Hereford in 2024-25 and – in truth – since Paul Caddis has been at the club they are a side who strike me as being well-coached, but all too deliberate in the final third of the pitch and that lack pace, power and unpredictability. I think signing a forward that can provide that athleticism and physique to occupy defenders and get them running back towards their own goal could do the world of good.

Ebanks is a brilliant athlete, possesses explosive pace and is as strong as they come. That balance of skillsets makes him perfect for playing the role as a more traditional #9, yet he can also play as the striker on the shoulder of the backline running in behind and exploiting space. The variance – therefore – in his game is crucial in ensuring that The Bulls can diversify their approach in the final third; as a result, they’re harder to defend against and contain. When you’ve got a player that is as equally proficient at controlling the ball on his chest as he is running on through lines, that makes the defenders job a nightmare.

He has played at a higher level when he was on the books of Cheltenham Town, yet he perhaps didn’t get the opportunities that he would’ve wanted and had to drop down into non-league to get his career going again. He is a player with a lot of ability, and I think this represents the perfect opportunity to continue moving his career in the right direction once more.