New Wycombe Wanderers recruits offer underrated trait in Birmingham City, Wrexham promotion battle | OneFootball

Wycombe's newest signings, Sonny Bradley and Anders Hagelskjær, can offer an underrated trait in their promotion fight.

Summary

One of the most essential, yet underrated assets in a promotion battle is a player who has been there and done that. Fortunately for promotion-chasing Wycombe Wanderers, new signings Sonny Bradley and Anders Hagelskjær have that experience.

January will be pivotal for the Chairboys, as they look to maintain their seriously impressive first half of the season and mount a promotion challenge. Having lost Aaron Morley and Caleb Taylor, there are fears that this could put a serious dent in their promotion hopes.

However, Matt Bloomfield and his staff moved quickly to fill the gap left by Taylor in defence, bringing across Bradley and Hagelskjær. The latter has reportedly broken the club's transfer record, which is a serious statement of intent by the new ownership.

Both new additions are well accomplished, bolstering plenty of experience at different levels of the game. Bradley brings across a whole host of EFL experience, which includes two promotions from League One, whilst his new Danish colleague has played Champions League football during his time with Molde.

With that in mind, could this underrated trait be the key to the Chairboys getting the better of Birmingham City, Wrexham, and Huddersfield Town over the line come May?

Wycombe are not messing around in the transfer market

There was always a possibility that the overachieving League One club would face a wave of interest in their prized assets come January. With two loanees in Taylor and Morley, who were a crucial part of the team, being recalled early on, Wanderers supporters would've been fearing the worst.

Whilst Morley has yet to be replaced, Wycombe were quick to fashion a replacement for Taylor, bringing in Bradley on loan from Derby and sticking him straight into the squad to face Huddersfield. Despite losing the match, the ex-Luton Town captain looked assured and composed on his debut.

There have been plenty of names linked with Wycombe, but one that caught the eye was Molde's Hagelskjær. It was reported that the Chairboys were in negotiations with the Norwegian club over a potential deal for the defender. Days later, the Dane arrived in England to get the deal over the line.

Signing a play with the experience and quality of Hagelskjær is a serious statement of intent by the new ownership group, as it marks the start of the new, data-driven era at Wycombe while it appears another eye-catching arrival is coming.

Experience could be key in Birmingham and Wrexham battle

Benji Walker (@benjiwalkerphoto)

Experience can often be an underrated trait when it comes to a promotion battle. Having someone who has been there and done it all before can be the difference when it comes down to the business end of the season.

Having been promoted last season with Derby, Bradley can use his heaps of experience and become an influential figure in the dressing room, as he looks to aid his new club's promotion push. Whilst he may not be the first name on the team sheet, having a character as street-wise as Bradley will be useful behind the scenes as well as on the pitch.

To add to this, his fellow January signing also brings a wealth of different experience to the table. Having played in European competitions, Hagelskjær knows the pressure of playing in matches where you must get a positive result. With Wycombe still to play all three of their promotion rivals, the 27-year-old will be able to bring calmness into big matches.

With plenty of cash being splashed so far and further spending expected, the underrated trait of experience could be vital in keeping the Wanderers in the promotion bid. They might not be able to keep up with the spending of Birmingham City and Huddersfield Town, but they can keep up with them on the pitch by being shrewd with their business, as they've done so far.