Peterborough United chairman on a potential Golden Boot winner and why his manager didn't want any deadline day signings
Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony believes he has another Golden Boot winner at the club.
Posh splashed out £500k to bring Gustav Lindgren to the Weston Homes Stadium from second tier football in Sweden in January. The 23 year-old scored twice on his full debut in an EFL Trophy tie against Walsall, but has not netted since despite appearing in six League One matches.
MacAnthony believes a lack of service rather than a lack of ability is to blame. He believes Lindgren’s movement is on a par with former Posh star Dwight Gayle.
"Gustav makes runs only Championship and Premier League players make,” MacAnthony said on the latest edition of his ‘Hard Truth’ podcast. It was the same with Dwight Gayle when we watched him playing for Dagenham. Gustav will be a player who comes good. I’m certain of that. He will be a Golden Boot winner and we will sell him for millions. It was the same with Gayle, one good season and then off to the moon,
"Hopefully Chris Conn-Clarke will be the player to set Gustav free. The number 10 position is pivotal to how we play and it hasn’t happened for Chris yet. We need to get him up and running.”
MacAnthony also revealed Posh boss Darren Ferguson rejected the offer of new players to aid the relegation towards the end of the January transfer window. After the weak performance when losing 3-1 at Bristol Rovers the chairman asked Ferguson if he wanted extra signings to follow new defenders Tayo Edun, Sam Hughes and Carl Johnston through the door.
"The gaffer didn’t want them,” MacAnthony said. “He said he had a lot of players anyway and there was no reason to sign four new ones every time we lost a game. We have a lot of defenders and forwards now, and four central midfielders, so the gaffer said ‘just let me do my job with the players I have.’ We have started the rebuild in January and we will complete it in the summer regardless of what division we are in.
"I’m at the point now when I can’t spend my life obsessing about relegation. I have to trust my staff and my players to get us out of it.”
Lidgren is currently sidelined with a shoulder injury, but should return for the big relegation battle at home to Shrewsbury Town on March 1. Conn-Clarke was National League Player-of-the-Year last season after scoring 22 goals for Altrincham. He has yet to score in 25 Posh appearances (14 starts).