Millwall and Northampton Town eye Walsall manager raid | OneFootball

Sadler is reportedly in the running for both positions.

Walsall FC Mat Sadler has emerged as a potential candidate for both the Millwall and Northampton Town jobs, according to Football Insider.

The Championship and League One sides have had their managers, Neil Harris and Jon Brady, step down from their positions at the club in recent weeks. While Harris has not officially left his post yet, he will be departing after the Lions' game on Saturday versus Middlesbrough.

Neither club would have expected to be looking for a new boss at this stage of the season, but that's the predicament they find themselves in. Plenty of names have been linked with the two positions, with the latest one being one of the hottest managerial prospects in League Two.

Mat Sadler emerges as Millwall and Northampton Town candidate

The Lions and the Cobblers are said to be considering Sadler as one of their options to replace their respective managers, as per Football Insider.

The 39-year-old has only ever managed the Saddlers. He was put into a caretaker role after Michael Flynn left The Poundland Bescot Stadium in April 2023, before being handed the job permanently in mid-May.

Walsall were a mid-table team last term but have been taken to new heights by Sadler, despite working on a pretty tight budget. Some smart signings have catapulted them to the pinnacle of League Two, ahead of teams like Port Vale, Doncaster Rovers, MK Dons and Notts County.

They have picked up 37 points from their first 18 games of the season, with a record of 11 wins, four draws and three losses.

He primarily uses a back-three, but deploys his wing-backs very high up the pitch. They are the highest scorers in the division while also having one of the most solid defences, making Millwall and Northampton's interest in him unsurprising.

For the job at The Den, in particular, he will face some stiff competition if he wants the role. Former Coventry City manager Mark Robins has been linked with succeeding Harris.

One of Sadler's League Two counterparts, Bromley boss Andy Woodman, is also in contention to get the Town manager position, according to Football Insider.

Mat Sadler may be a risk worth taking for Northampton, but not for Millwall

You'd imagine that both clubs would have more experienced candidates on their list of options than Sadler; it wouldn't be hard to find them.

It can't be denied that he has turned Walsall, surprisingly, into the current best team in the fourth division, but it's not like this has been coming for a while, or they have been on the edge of success. It may not be, but there's a chance that this is a massive purple patch and they will start to settle down at some point.

For a Championship club like Millwall, it'd feel like another very risky and bold move for them to make - an unnecessary one.

Northampton could probably justify it a bit more. If it were to come to fruition, they'd be a bottom half of League One side poaching one of the best bosses from the division below. Even still, that would be a risk given the profile of their squad in comparison to what Sadler is working with at Walsall.