Stockport County showed a resourceful transfer spark in the summer of 2024 | OneFootball

Stockport County have been noted for their significant investment, but they have also learned to be thrifty in the market

Stockport County are no strangers to hefty investment in the transfer window.

Owner Mark Stott has made no bones about the fact that such spending was the main driver behind the Hatters’ rise out of the National League in 2022.

However, he also recognised, in the same interview, that County were no longer one of the league’s financial heavyweights following their entry into the third tier.

One way to combat that is the free agent market, and Stockport used it to great effect in the 2024 summer window, something they will hope to recreate in years to come.

County struck gold more than once in 2024

Stott spoke extensively about getting players in who perhaps need a platform after not quite nailing the transition between academy and senior football, and then moving them on for a profit.

The likes of Lewis Bate and Jack Diamond, both signed on free transfers after not quite making their name at Leeds United and Sunderland respectively, certainly fall into this bracket.

Bate has enhanced his reputation considerably. Given the captain’s armband on entering the club, he’s been one of Dave Challinor’s top performers and earned a spot in the EFL’s League One Team of the Season.

Still only 22, it’s hard to imagine a better example of the philosophy Stott wants to lay down at the club; the midfielder would land County a significant profit the following summer were he to be sold, after just one year’s development at Edgeley Park.

Similar is true of Diamond, who grew into the side in the latter part of the season, being one of the main drivers behind the Hatters’ final push into the play-offs.

It will have opened County’s eyes to the sort of talents available in the free agent market, even if they look to have struggled further up the pyramid.

Method also presents a chance to boost experience in County’s squad

But Stockport proved that summer that this transfer method is not only for picking up rough talents in need of a boost, it can also be a way to raise experience in the squad.

To the shock of much of the footballing world, the Hatters managed to land former Sheffield United midfielder Ollie Norwood in the same summer, on another free transfer.

There were some concerns about handing a three-year contract to a 33-year-old, but Norwood could not have done much more to dispel those early fears in his first season with the Hatters.

He made 49 appearances in all competitions in his first season in SK3, scoring five goals and providing five assists from his deep midfield role, controlling the tempo of games and providing no end of wicked passes to those further forward.

With extensive Championship and Premier League experience, getting Norwood for free proved to be a masterstroke.

The Hatters would love another transfer window like 2024

Both in terms of picking up assets to develop and potentially sell on, and accessing levels of experience that would not be available to the club in the regular transfer market, County truly learned the value of free agents in 2024.

As they look ahead to future seasons, where their budget is unlikely to be one of the biggest in League One or higher, it could be a crucial lesson.

County paid fees for the likes of Lewis Fiorini and Jay Mingi, but it was those who required no upfront fee that provided the greatest value.

As Stott now tries to wrestle the Hatters towards greater sustainability, the lesson learned in that summer transfer window could prove crucial.