Paul Cook should take inspiration from Chesterfield coup in search for Berry, Markanday replacements | OneFootball

Chesterfield can take inspiration from a former January signing as they look for Dilan Markanday and James Berry replacements late in the window.

Chesterfield have had a busy January window so far, having already completed moves for five players, but Paul Cook’s men are feeling the effects of losing both Dilan Markanday and James Berry this month, with the Spireites now five games without a win in all competitions.

Markanday, who was on loan from Blackburn Rovers, was recalled by his parent club and immediately sent to League One Leyton Orient after impressing at Chesterfield, where he scored six goals and provided three assists in 22 League Two appearances.

The Spireites also lost Berry to Wycombe Wanderers this month, after the 24-year-old had impressed since joining from eighth tier Macclesfield in the summer of 2023.

The winger was Town’s second top scorer in League Two with seven goals and has joined the Chairboys for a six-figure sum as they target promotion to the Championship.

This has left Chesterfield short in wide areas, with Michael Jacobs currently out injured, Liam Mandeville, Ryan Colclough and Armando Dobra are the Spireites’ only natural wingers.

The loan signing of Lincoln City winger Dylan Duffy has added some much-needed firepower to the Chesterfield flanks, but having lost two quality wingers this winter, Cook may still be looking to strengthen the position.

This time last year, Cook decided not to dip into the market to help bolster his squad, with Chesterfield comfortable at the top of the National League, but as recent years have shown, the 57-year-old is not afraid to splash some cash in the winter.

When battling it out for the National League title alongside Wrexham and Notts County in the 2022/23 season, Cook confirmed the signatures of two high-profile loans in striker Andrew Dallas and Arsenal midfielder Tim Akinola.

Cook wasn’t done there, however, deciding to spend a fee on Altrincham’s star winger Colclough, whose performances helped the Spireites to the National League title last season.

With the current squad looking bare in the wide areas, Cook can use the Colclough deal as inspiration to dip into the winger market again this winter.

Colclough made an instant impact after signing for Chesterfield.

In typical Cook fashion, the duo had worked together before his Chesterfield move, being a member of Cook’s League One winning Wigan Athletic team in 2017/18, where he scored four goals and contributed an assist on the way to picking up his first league title.

After a two-year spell at Scunthorpe, Colclough signed for National League outfit Altrincham in November 2020, and he quickly became a key part of the Robins’ side, who looked to cement themselves as a National League club following two promotions in three seasons.

A speedy winger with an eye for goal, Colclough netted 26 goals in 90 appearances for Altrincham, and he earned his move to Chesterfield in January 2023.

The 30-year-old signed for the Spireites on an 18-month deal for an undisclosed fee, after scoring seven goals for the Robins in the first half of the season, and the winger would carry on his impressive form in Derbyshire.

Comfortable playing on either wing, Colclough scored crucial goals, including a last minute winner away at Gateshead, and a brace in a 3-2 win over Eastleigh at the back-end of the season to help Town secure a third-place finish, where they would go straight through to the play-off semi-finals.

The former Wigan man ended the National League season with 14 goals, the best tally of his career to date, and he was named alongside fellow Spireite Jeff King in the National League Team of the Season.

Colclough continued his impressive form into the start of the 2023/24 season, and nine games into the season he’d clocked up five goals and two assists, as the Spireites built an almighty lead at the top of the table.

The 30-year-old struggled with injuries in the second half of the season but still managed to end the season with seven goals and four assists from 30 matches, picking up a National League winners' medal in the process.

The rise of Berry and Markanday has seen Colclough take up more of a squad player role this term, but in their absence, he has started Chesterfield’s last three games.

Colclough remains a crucial squad player for Cook, despite scoring just one goal this season, a well-taken effort against Tranmere, and Cook can take inspiration from Colclough signing in the last few days of the window.

Cook should be looking at completing a similar deal this January.

The 57-year-old has hinted there will be a few more players through the door in the coming days, and despite the acquisition of Lincoln winger Duffy, who has just six goal contributions in 66 appearances for the Imps, Cook should be looking to add some more firepower to the attack.

During his second spell in charge of Chesterfield, Cook signed players for cheap from the lower leagues, and developed them into first-team regulars, with the likes of Berry, Kane Drummond, Bailey Hobson and Colclough having signed for the Spireites from clubs outside the Football League.

One man who has been touted by Town fans as a perfect replacement for the departing Markanday and Berry has been Altrincham’s current star, Alex Newby, who has already raced to 11 goals and seven assists for the Robins this campaign.

Like Colclough, the 29-year-old is capable of playing on either wing and has experience playing in the EFL, following spells with Rochdale and Colchester United.

Newby is into his second season in Greater Manchester, and after 13 goals and 10 assists last season, he should be on the radar of a team like Chesterfield, who have had a strong focus on signing players from lower down the pyramid.

Although Altrincham would require a fee for the 29-year-old, they do have a history of selling players for the right price, with Chris Conn-Clarke, Toby Mullarkey and Colclough all high-profile names the Robins have let go of in recent years.

With Chesterfield’s six-figure sum for Berry burning a hole through Cook’s pocket, the Spireites would likely to have the funds to complete a move for the winger, who has the potential to have a Colclough-like impact in Derbyshire.