⁠Nolan in, McCalmont out: The dream start to Carlisle United's summer transfer window | OneFootball

There has arguably not been a bigger summer transfer window in Carlisle United's history than the one that they are in the midst of now, and the stakes are high.

Blues boss Paul Simpson has admitted that getting things right between now and September could be the difference between him keeping his job and losing it.

Carlisle's dud of a summer window last time round started them off on a path which led to disappointment and despair, as they failed to establish themselves at the League One level, and were relegated back to the fourth tier just one season after leaving it.

There are two big changes that should work in Simpson, Gregg Abbott and the rest of the recruitment team's favour: time and money.

These two things that are so often pinned together are in a much better position, when it comes to United, than they were last year.

Carlisle have known which league they were going to be in next season for a long time, and, thanks to the Piataks, their ability to offer better deals to players has increased too.

This does raise the expectations, because there are far fewer excuses if things go wrong, but, if they make these two moves, it would send the club on a much better path than the one they ended up on before the start of the 2023/24 campaign.

In: Jack Nolan

Lacking in so many areas on the pitch, Carlisle aren't going to just be able to add a few pieces to the current squad to make them contenders in the upcoming 24/25 campaign.

One of the main areas they struggled in was creating chances for the forwards. Luke Armstrong and Georgie Kelly have decent pedigrees as goalscorers, but, in a team that created the second-fewest big chances in the league last season (56), they were deprived of service.

In order to maximise them, the Blues need more creative minds. Nolan is someone that has proven to be someone who could help fix this issue.

Sofascore clocked the Accrington Stanley winger as having created 13 big chances, which is 23% of Carlisle's total output in this category, and five more than anyone in United's current squad did, in the 23/24 regular season.

Nolan also completed two crosses per game - the fourth most in League Two - and played as many key passes per game - fourth best in the division, as per Sofascore.

On top of his creativity for others, the 22-year-old scored 17 goals in 45 appearances for Stanley, with a conversion rate of 15%.

Accrington have offered Nolan a new deal - his decision on which isn't yet known - but, if Carlisle do manage to convince him to come to Brunton Park, it would be a brilliant way to kick off the summer for the Blues.

Out: Alfie McCalmont

The midfielder, like many others, is a bit of a sign of the past season that was so miserable for everyone. McCalmont wasn't the only one in the squad who showed themselves to not be ready for the third tier, but, unfortunately for him, this point will probably bite him the hardest out of anyone.

The middle of the park is the only place where Carlisle have a few decent options. Once Callum Guy gets fit, they will have him, Josh Vela, Harrison Neal, Dylan McGeouch and others. There just doesn't seem to be any room for the out-of-favour 24-year-old in the squad.

Paul Simpson has said that some players, who haven't been publicly named, have been told that they can try to find new opportunities for themselves.

If McCalmont is one of them, he would be a good one to get off the books and start fresh somewhere else.