Exeter City “finding it difficult” in transfer window

Exeter City manager Matt Taylor has said competing with other teams in the early transfer window has been “difficult” so far.

Exeter City were promoted to League One after a strong 2021/22 campaign, finishing second on equal points with eventual-champions Forest Green Rovers.

However, despite promotion, the team are yet to announce any big signings while their own players are lured away to other teams and leagues.

Previewing the season following the announcement of their 2022/23 fixtures, Taylor spoke about the team’s progress in signing players for the season ahead.

He said:

“It’s an interesting one, certainly we are finding it difficult to compete with teams in this division but also obviously the top teams in the league below as well, and some of the teams in the league below that, in the national league.

“I imagine there’s a lot of good players out there and we’ve identified a lot of good players, and they are sought after players, but we aren’t even in the conversations at this moment in time.

“So, we’ve got to be realistic in the market we’re working in. We only need four or five players. So, we don’t need a whole host of players like we did in the last couple of seasons.”

Most recently, Exeter lost striker Padraig Amond, with the Irishman signing for Woking Football Club until 2024.

Taylor went on to confirm that a number of their targets will probably end up being loan deals, possibly in an attempt to replicate their success with goalkeeper Cameron Dawson, who returned to parent club Sheffield Wednesday following the end of last season.

“More than likely, the majority of that small group of signings will be loan players as well.

“In terms of loan players, we have to be patient, we have to be respectful that they’re contracted to other football clubs. We have to be respectful that they start pre-season with those football clubs.”

The Grecians are set to head to Wales next week to partake in a pre-season boot camp, before their first pre-season friendly with Tiverton Town on 1 July.

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