Carlisle United: 23-goal star can be perfect Jordan Gibson replacement - View | OneFootball

Carlisle United's top scorer, Jordan Gibson, is set to leave the club in the summer, and one National League player is standing out as a prime candidate to replace him.

Paul Simpson's side have struggled in both boxes this season, and that's a large part of why they are heading down to League Two, after just one season in the third tier of English football.

With two games left in the 2023/24 campaign, the Blues sit bottom of the League One table, but 20th in the league for goals scored, and big chances created, and dead last for goals conceded, as per Sofascore.

Their second-top scorer, Jon Mellish, is a natural central defender who plays in midfield from time to time. Three of the five goals he has scored in the league this season came in one recent game against Peterborough United.

They've been really poor in attack this season, and they're likely to lose a lot of the small amount of creativity and flare that they have in the team if Gibson leaves in the summer, which he looks set to do.

The winger, who has found the back of the net seven times in the 23/24 campaign, has got his drawbacks - his workrate being the one that riles fans the most - but he sometimes looks like the only person in a blue shirt who has the ability to make something happen, going forward.

Gibson is alleged to be one of the three United players who have faced punishment from the club for being out drinking less than 72 hours before their Easter Monday game against Lincoln City. This alleged incident makes the chance of him being offered and/or signing a new deal even less likely.

So the Blues need to find someone to replace his good attributes, and one of the National League's best players is a great option for Carlisle to consider.

Chris Conn-Clarke: Carlisle United's ideal Jordan Gibson replacement

The Northern Irish attacking midfielder has been absolutely smashing it for Altrincham this season, bagging 23 goals and 11 assists in 45 league games.

Conn-Clarke, 22, is an attacking midfielder and was previously with Burnley and Fleetwood Town in his career, before moving to Irish side Waterford, and now Altrincham. His contract with the Robins expires in the summer, and he will likely be on the move to a League Two club.

He has often played either just behind, or alongside, a number nine for the National League outfit, and he has that natural ability with the ball, whether it's dribbling, finding someone who's open for a shot, or attempting to hit the back of the net.

The two main striker options that Carlisle have at the moment - Luke Armstrong and Georgie Kelly - have started to form a bit of a partnership in recent games, but Conn-Clarke would bring something different to their attacking unit.

There are similarities between the 22-year-old and Dan Butterworth, who is under contract with the Blues already this season, but Butterworth's main issue is consistency, and that is something that Conn-Clarke has shown that he can provide this season.

He also tends to operate much more centrally than Butterworth or Gibson, who like to either drift out wide, or cut inside if they start their attacks from closer to the by-lines. United haven't had that natural creative mind who's been able to stick centrally and play off of a striker, and that's where signing the Northern Irishman could be so helpful for Carlisle.

Carlisle need to have a clear vision with their summer recruitment

The 2023 summer transfer window was really poor. Factors like lack of preparation time and a small budget did affect things, but it felt, in the end, like the Blues were just grabbing anyone that they could get their hands on, and the head of recruitment, Gregg Abbott, has taken a lot of heat from fans because of it.

Things must be different this time around.

The excuse of lack of funding is no longer plausible, thanks to the Piatak family's takeover of the club in November 2023, and Tom Piatak has said that the biggest job on the club's hands is the recruitment.

Bringing in the best available players is one thing, but the rule of a cohesive team being better than 11 individuals is always proven in football. There needs to be an obvious ideology to what they're doing in the summer; the plan of action must be one that fans can look at and go 'I can see what they're trying to do'.

If that ends up being the case, they will buy themselves more time with the fans. Failure to do so could see things turn sour quickly.