11-cap international could help Leyton Orient cushion Charlie Kelman blow | OneFootball

Kusini Yengi could prove to be Orient's long-term striker solution.

Leyton Orient will feel the blow of losing Charlie Kelman next season.

Kelman, who finished last year as the League One top scorer, is heading back to his parent club Queens Park Rangers - leaving Orient with the task of finding a new starting striker before the start of the next campaign.

It is unlikely forwards Sonny Perkins or Diallang Jaiyesimi will find themselves in a role prominent enough to nail down a starting spot, so the O's will have to look elsewhere for a new number nine.

Clinical Socceroos star available following Portsmouth release

Kusini Yengi, who was recently released by Championship side Portsmouth, could find himself on Orient's radar this summer.

Yengi joined the South Coast side back in 2023, making the move from Australia's Western Sydney Wanderers for an undisclosed fee.

The Australian international started life in England well, scoring nine times in 26 games in his debut season in League One - including scoring in a 4-0 thrashing of the O's at Brisbane Road early in the year, as Pompey went on to win the League One title.

Having mostly played second fiddle to starting striker Colby Bishop, who scored 21 times that season, Yengi was tipped to play an even more important role in the second tier - but an injury-riddled season saw the 26-year-old restricted to just 14 league appearances whilst failing to score in all competitions, with his most recent goal coming in a 2-2 draw against Bahrain for his national team.

This also saw the striker dropped from the Socceroos' squad for a pair of crucial World Cup qualifiers against Japan and Saudi Arabia.

He's now a free agent following his Portsmouth release.

Charlie Kelman will be almost impossible to replace

It is never going to be easy replacing a player that scored 27 goals across all competitions for the O's this season.

Whilst many Orient fans would have been dreaming of the 23-year-old playing his football in the second tier with the O's next season, it wasn't meant to be as Orient were defeated in the League One play-off final and the striker is now linked with several other Championship sides.

Kelman is among a number of loan players that have impressed at E10 over the last twelve months, and with none of them extending their stay into next season, Orient will want to avoid a similar situation occurring this time next year - which would leave many to believe the O's will be looking for a permanent number nine this summer.

While Yengi doesn't have the statistics to compare to the heights that Kelman has reached, their similar profiles could be key to manager Richie Wellens having confidence in being able to unlock the Australian's talent.

Yengi, who recently garnered interest from fellow third tier side Wycombe Wanderers, would be considered to be in his prime at the age of 26, and the fact that Orient wouldn't have to shell out a sizeable transfer fee for a striker of his age and experience could make him appear even more tempting.

If the O's want to be back competing at the top of League One next year, this could be a move they set their eyes on in the upcoming weeks and months to cushion the blow of not having Kelman to lead their promotion charge in 2025/26.