Exeter City might have found dream combo thanks to Reading & Stockport | OneFootball

Ryan Rydel and Jayden Wareham linked up in pre-season and Exeter City will be hoping they can carry that into the season.

The long wait is finally over and the EFL returns this weekend.

For Exeter City supporters, there's plenty to get excited about, as well as a fair share of trepidation about how the season's going to play out.

Plenty of new faces have arrived and manager Gary Caldwell has promised that there will be a few more signing on before the transfer window closes.

Jayden Wareham could prove to be the most important of those who have joined already, with the Grecians absolutely crying out for goals in the last couple of seasons.

Caldwell's side had the second-lowest average of shots on target per game across the whole EFL last season and fans were rightly complaining about a dull style of football.

There have been moves to, hopefully, improve that this term, most obviously with the signing of Wareham from Reading for an undisclosed compensation fee.

Wareham can be key for Exeter

The 22-year-old forward has left the Royals under a bit of a cloud and many up at the Madejski have praised his workmate but criticised his quality.

Generally speaking, Reading fans will expect more from their players than those at City, given the respective league positions of the two clubs this century.

The Grecians can't afford finished articles and Wareham seems like a perfect project to mould and improve, in a similar vein to Sam Nombe.

Nombe arrived a little down on his luck after failing to make the grade at Luton Town and MK Dons, but he thrived at St James Park before following former City boss Matt Taylor to Rotherham United for a fee worth in excess of £1m in 2023.

Wareham clearly has the attitude and the workrate to do well at Exeter. If Caldwell can add that quality in front of goal, he won't be in EX4 for long.

Rydel can chip in with Exeter assists

And it's another of the Grecians' summer arrivals, Ryan Rydel, who could be providing the ammunition for City's new No.9.

The Rydel signing is a strange one as he arrives on loan from Stockport County for the season on loan but with no option to recall.

His contract is up in the summer of 2027, so he'll be hoping to use the next 10 months in Devon as a platform to get back in at County or to set himself up for his next move.

Many Stockport supporters were full of praise for the 24-year-old left-back/wing-back who had to battle back from a long-term knee injury last season.

One thing that stood out in the announcement of the transfer was repeated comments about the quality of his delivery and the lethal accuracy of that left foot.

While neither Rydel nor Wareham are yet to actually play a minute of competitive football for City, we have had glimpses in pre-season friendlies of their qualities, specifically at Torquay United last Friday.

The pair executed exactly what Caldwell is hoping to see on a regular basis as Rydel swung in a left-footed cross for Wareham to find space and head home City's goal in the 1-1 draw.

Rydel and Wareham have already linked up

After the match, Rydel revealed that he had told Wareham that he was going to stick it in the mixer at the first opportunity and to be ready.

"Is that a link-up that can be really important this season? I hope so," he told the club's media team after the final whistle at Plainmoor.

"I just told him, whenever I get the ball and get the chance to get it out of my feet I'm just going to be putting it in the box so just make your movement early."

It is the smallest sample size possible, of course, and everyone's got a plan until they get hit in the face, but there are signs that City can be more effective in the final third.

Things can't get much worse, but quality from the wings was sorely lacking last season.

If this early promise can carry into the league, then there will be optimism of better results and more entertaining football down at St James Park this term.

Last season City's top scorer, Josh Magennis, and assister, Ed Francis, both finished on six apiece, which is, frankly, a pretty poor return.

The Grecians have a solid defensive unit and, if Rydel and Wareham can deliver an uptick in productivity from last season, then City should be in good shape to have a comfortable season in the third tier after a couple of bumpy campaigns and worsening final league positions.