Chesterfield FC: One Dilan Markanday factor spikes fear of Blackburn Rovers action | OneFootball

Dilan Markanday has starred for an inconsistent Chesterfield team this season, prompting fans to question if he may be recalled by Blackburn Rovers.

Chesterfield were hotly tipped for promotion in League Two at the start of the campaign but an inconsistent start to life in the EFL, coupled with an unfortunate injury record, leaves Paul Cook’s men two points outside the play-offs with several key players rumoured to have interest from higher up the pyramid.

One of Chesterfield's star men this season has been Blackburn Rovers loanee Dilan Markanday, who has started all 17 matches he’s been available for in the league, scoring five goals while assisting a further three.

While Cook has tended to chop and change his attacking options, with Paddy Madden and Will Grigg fighting for the number nine spot, and James Berry and Armando Dobra battling it out on the left wing, the 23-year-old has nailed down a place on the right.

Only Berry, who has rumoured interest from multiple Championship clubs, and Grigg, who was named PFA Fans' League Two Player of the Month in October, have scored more goals for Chesterfield this season than Markanday’s five, while only left-back Lewis Gordon has started more league games.

Chesterfield are in the midst of an injury crisis, with the likes of Madden, John Fleck, Chey Dunkley, Jeson Metcalfe, and Michael Jacobs all out, so the thought of Markanday being recalled in January is a frightening prospect for Town fans.

Markanday’s form has caught the eye of Blackburn manager John Eustace

The Tottenham academy product missed both of the Spireites’ FA Cup matches this season, with Eustace hinting in mid-November he didn’t want to risk cup-tying the winger with a potential recall in mind.

Eustace told the Lancashire Telegraph: "January is when the FA Cup is around again so we will monitor that. He has done amazingly well and that is why we sent him there.

"It was very important that Dilan went out, he is doing terrifically well now and we hope he comes back to make a difference.

"We will assess that in January going forward and see if we think that he can come back and make a difference for us."

Markanday spent last season as a squad player in Lancashire, making 27 appearances in all competitions, with 10 starts and three goals, two of which came in the EFL Cup.

Eyebrows were raised when Town announced the signing of Markanday late in the summer window, with a number of Rovers fans expecting the 23-year-old to feature in the first team following the departures of fellow attackers Sammie Szmodics, Sam Gallagher and Semir Telalovic.

A Markanday recall would be a huge blow for the Spireites.

With their injury list growing bigger by the week, Chesterfield are already struggling for numbers, having had to recall Bailey Hobson from his loan spell at National League Barnet and Kane Drummond from Oldham.

If Markanday were to go back to Blackburn, the drop-off in quality would be noticeable, with some of Chesterfield’s key players from their National League win last year, finding form difficult to come by in the Football League.

One of Chesterfield’s biggest problems this season has been their inconsistency, having lost three of their last five league games, as multiple key players have failed to hit the heights of last season on a consistent basis.

One of the most notable drop-offs in form has been Dobra, who last year dazzled supporters with his trickery and goals from the left wing but is finding it difficult to adapt to the physicality of League Two, having not hit the heights of previous seasons.

After a night to forget in Buckinghamshire against Milton Keynes on Tuesday, where the Spireites were soundly beaten 3-0, Town got back to winning ways against Tranmere on Saturday, a game in which Dobra scored just his second league goal since September.

At times, the Albanian U21 international has looked a far cry from the man who scored 10 and assisted nine in the National League last season, but following a great display against Rovers, Cook will be hoping he can get back to his best on a consistent basis.

Similarly to Dobra, Liam Mandeville is another player who has had an inconsistent start to the season but enjoyed one of his best displays of the season against Tranmere.

Due to Chesterfield’s injury issues, the versatile 27-year-old, who has played at right-back and across the frontline during his time in Derbyshire, was played in central midfield by Cook and while fans called Mandeville ‘too lightweight’ for the role, he performed brilliantly and picked up an assist for Ryan Colclough’s opener.

Fellow attackers Michael Jacobs and Colclough also haven’t had the impact they were hoping for this season, with Colclough picking up his first League Two goal of the season last weekend.

With Dobra, Colclough and Mandeville all having a hand in goals against Tranmere, Cook will be hoping the 3-0 win could be the catalyst for consistency along the frontline.

Markanday and Berry have been Chesterfield’s stand-out wingers this season, but both are the subject of speculation about moves away from the Spireites in January.

While Cook has the players at his disposal to replace the duo, a return to form for the likes of Dobra, Mandeville, and Colclough would be needed to replace the output of this season’s stars.

With a player of Markanday’s quality at his disposal all season, there’s still no reason a fully fit Spireites squad can’t challenge for at least a play-off spot come the end of the season, but with their current injury crisis and rumours rife of a recall, it wouldn’t be out of the question for Cook to dip back into the transfer market when the January window opens.

The fear will be that should Rovers recall their loan star, the players that will be asked to step up at Chesterfield haven't hit their straps this term.