30-year-old has to come onto Chesterfield radar after Will Grigg developments: View | OneFootball

Chesterfield are short on striking options due to Will Grigg's latest injury, and it may force Paul Cook into the free agent market once again.

Chesterfield’s injury-riddled start to life back in League Two has already left the Spireites short on attacking options, but an injury to Will Grigg leaves the inexperienced Kane Drummond as the only fit striker at the club.

Grigg limped off just before half-time in Chesterfield’s disappointing 1-0 loss to Port Vale on Saturday, with Paul Cook’s men failing to have a shot on target in 90 minutes.

With five of Chesterfield's nine goals coming in one game, the front line looks a far cry away from the outfit that netted over 100 National League goals this season.

While the Spireites anxiously await the results of Grigg’s ankle scan, 23-year-old Drummond, who spent last season at seventh tier Macclesfield, is tasked with leading the line.

The only other recognised striker in Cook’s squad is Paddy Madden, who has been out since picking up an injury in pre-season, and his return is expected in the coming weeks, but he featured in an attacking midfield role in pre-season rather than as a striker.

With an inexperienced Drummond, who has failed to score in his first six appearances, as Chesterfield’s only fit striker, their front-line could do with some reinforcements.

Mo Eisa could add a different dimension to Chesterfield’s attack.

The League Two transfer window may be closed, but clubs can still sign free agents to add to their squads, and Chesterfield’s signing of John Fleck last week was a prime example of how the free market can be utilized.

Mo Eisa, a proven Football League goalscorer, is without a club after scoring just one goal in 11 League One appearances for Gary Caldwell’s Exeter in the back half of last season on loan from MK Dons.

The 30-year-old, who burst onto the scene playing in the Southern Counties East, the ninth tier of English football in 2015, is a current Sudanese international, playing in AFCON qualifiers against Niger and Angola in recent weeks.

Eisa scored 52 goals in 81 appearances for Greenwich Borough between 2015 and 2017, which earned him a move to League Two Cheltenham, where he scored 23 league goals, breaking the club’s record for most goals scored in a season.

The striker moved to Championship side Bristol City in the summer of 2018, but only made five appearances, before a move to League One Peterborough got his career back on track, as he scored 16 League One goals across two seasons for Posh.

Eisa spent the next two and a half seasons at MK Dons, where he reached double figures in both full seasons in League One as the club’s record signing, but was released at the end of last season after a failed loan spell at Exeter.

The pacey Eisa would add a different dimension to the Chesterfield attack, with Grigg lacking the legs to run in behind and offer an ‘out ball’ for the Spireites when under pressure, as seen in the first half at Port Vale, where the Spireites were closed down and bullied at times.

When Drummond came onto the field, he was energetic and offered Cook’s men an escape with his runs in behind the defense, but lacking in EFL experience, he never looked like scoring.

With experience of scoring at League Two level and the ability to cause problems with his pace, Eisa could add goals and a high quality ‘Plan B’ to Chesterfield’s attack.

Chesterfield need cover in the forward department

Grigg and Joe Quigley spearheaded a lethal Spireites attack on the way to the National League title last campaign, but just months later, Grigg is set for a spell on the sidelines, while Quigley left the club for Forest Green late in the window.

33-year-old Grigg has struggled for form this season, having only scored once prior to his injury, compared to last campaign where he netted 25, a joint-record high for the former Wigan and MK Dons man.

The former Northern Irish international had injury issues towards the end of last season, when Grigg missed the last six games of the season with a hamstring problem, which allowed Cook to turn to back-up option Quigley.

Despite playing second fiddle to Grigg for much of the season, Cook was happy to rotate the pairing, with Quigley playing over 1,300 National League minutes and scoring 11 goals, as the 6'2" striker offered an option to press and aerial ability that Grigg didn't have.

With the injury-plagued Grigg not getting any older, the need for an adequate back-up is essential for the Spireites, and with his pace and ability to stretch a defence, Eisa could add that in Derbyshire.

If Cook was to get Eisa or another striker through the door, it could allow Drummond to leave on loan and gain valuable experience.

The former Liverpool youngster signed from seventh tier Macclesfield in the summer after scoring 19 goals but has failed to find the back of the net in his six appearances in all competitions.

The striker has shown glimpses of quality, with his pace and energy proving a problem for multiple defences, but lacking experience at EFL level, a loan could be in order for the 23-year-old to gain experience.

When fully fit, the forward options of Grigg and Madden are among the strongest in League Two, but with the duo not getting older and struggling with injury issues, another striker through the door could give a boost to an off-the-boil front line.