Opinion: The move EFL attacker should be targeting amid Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday interest | OneFootball

When Sam Hoskins first joined Northampton Town in 2015, he joined with a lack of regular football under his belt.

Having started his career at Southampton in the academy, Hoskins didn’t make a league appearance until 2012 on loan with Rotherham United.

He made just eight appearances during his loan spell there but scored two goals in that time showing the potential he had.

A loan move to Stevenage followed before Hoskins was released by the Saints.

Following his release, the winger joined Yeovil Town who were in the Championship at the time.

He made 19 appearances in the league but failed to score and as a result was loaned out to Conference side Barnet on a short term basis.

As Yeovil were relegated to League One, Hoskins made just 12 appearances the following season before making the move to Northampton.

The attacking player became a regular for the Cobblers almost instantly as he made 34 appearances in his first season and contributed six goals alongside that as his side gained promotion to League One.

In the league above he still played fairly regularly although his game time did suffer somewhat but he regained his regular place when they were relegated to League Two again.

In 2020/21, the Cobblers found themselves back in League One where Hoskins finally got regular minutes making 46 appearances and scored eight goals and despite their relegation straight back down, this set him up nicely for last season in which he scored 14 goals.

Now with 11 goals in his opening ten games, it’s no surprise that there are a number of sides interested in a transfer move for the 29-year-old this January.

There is no guarantee the player would leave Sixfields in January with him under contract until 2024 and with the Cobblers pushing towards promotion again this season as they currently sit second in the league, he may be keen to put his efforts into that.

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However, with a number of teams interested, there is certainly a possibility for a departure and it’s a move that would be well deserved for the player.

With a number of options currently looking likely, you can understand why Hoskins could be tempted by a move up to the Championship especially given he is 29-years-old and therefore probably reaching the latter stages of his career now.

However, a League One move would be a safer option for the attacker if he was to leave Northampton this January.

If you look at Hoskins’ playing experience, the majority of it comes in League Two and even during his time with Northampton, his game time in League One grew time after time.

At this stage, you would trust the player to do a good job in League One especially given he has had such a role to play in the Cobblers’ efforts to get there.

However, in the Championship, there is no guarantee he would play and could likely be a squad player especially as we know it’s hard to replicate your goal tallies the higher up the football pyramid you go.

Given Hoskins is currently a core player at Northampton and is a certified name on the team sheet, to take the step up to the Championship could significantly decrease the player’s game time which in turn would make it harder for him to gain momentum and go on a goal scoring run.

There is no doubting that Hoskins is a player who’s worthy of a step up. However, with the impact he is able to have at a side he needs to resist the more exciting options and rather go in where he can get regular minutes and prove his ability in League One again.

Furthermore, with some promotion chasing League One sides on the list, if he got himself a solid place in the side and gained promotion with them, it would then earn him more time in the second tier to find his feet and keep a place in the squad.