Who should Woking try to sign in the summer?

After a tricky start under Michael Doyle, The Cards finished the campaign strongly.

Going into the 2024-25 campaign, there will be pressure on them to ensure they can add to the group they’ve retained smartly to make the improvement needed to go from the relegation contenders this year to at the very least the steady, mid-table outfit next season; indeed, with a view to pushing for the play-offs.

With that in mind, I take a look at some players that I think they should be targeting during the summer.

Reice Charles-Cook

With Alexis Andre Jr departing the football club in search of an opportunity at being the next social media star, The Cards need to sign a goalkeeper. A player who has impressed me this term and who I feel is more than capable of playing in the fifth tier for The Cards is Welling’s Reice Charles-Cook.

Charles-Cook was formerly on the books of Bromley, but after turning down the offer of a new deal with The Ravens went and signed for Welling in the National League South. Indeed, much of The Wings’ upturn in fortunes during the second-half of last season was a as a result of Charles-Cook’s inspired individual form in net to be able to win points on the board for Rod Stringer’s men. And, while he has clearly enjoyed his time with The Wings, I think that he should make a return to the National League.

The Welling shot-stopper is someone that Michael Doyle will know, with the goalkeeper having spent time on the books of Coventry City whilst Doyle was a player for The Sky Blues alongside him. As such, there is already a historic relationship on which to forge any such connections going forward and to work a deal. If Charles-Cook is to step back up to the fifth tier, doing so with a club relatively close to Welling in the form of Woking and under a manager that he knows personally seems the most sensible option for him.

With The Cards opting – in the main – for the use of a 3-at-the-back system under Michael Doyle, Charles-Cook is perfect for playing a sweeper keeper role. He is an agile, aggressive goalkeeper who is often quick off his line, not afraid to pass out from the back and is comfortable when playing behind a high line. A goalkeeper with a good spring, is athletic and a fabulous ability coming for crosses with plucks out of the air, I think he’d be the ideal option for The Cards.

Kevin Berkoe

The second player on this list is someone who Woking fans have made clear is a priority for them to sign during the close season is young defender Kevin Berkoe from Salford City. Out of contract with The Armies at the end of this season, Berkoe impressed during a loan at The Laithwaite last term and so they will be pushing for his permanent return to the club.

Berkoe impressed during his time with The Cards as a flying, front-foot, pacey wide player with a fabulous engine, a good athlete, and showed an ability to get forward and contribute in an attacking sense with 3 goals to his name.

At 22 years of age, Berkoe has a decision to make over where he wants his career to go; be it as a member in and around the fringes of Salford City’s first-team with few minutes, or as part of Woking’s team as a first-choice and key part of their squad. I think that now is the time for him to cut his ties with Salford City and amicably put himself – and his career – first.

Declan Drysdale

One position in which Woking need to strengthen during the summer is in the centre of defence. With award-winner Scott Cuthbert departing the club to be a coach with League One Stevenage, The Cards need to bring in a strong centre-back option and so Drysdale is one that I feel is more than capable of being a like-for-like replacement for Cuthbert.

Drysdale came through the academy system at Coventry City, indeed he did so while Doyle was on the books with Sky Blues. Thus, like Charles-Cook, there is a previous relationship between Doyle and Drysdale upon which The Cards boss can draw to work a deal. Drysdale was on the books of League Two Newport County until the end of the 2023-24 campaign, albeit was let go by The Exiles upon the conclusion of the season, and I feel that he could be a coup for Woking in the fifth tier.

The former City defender is an out-and-out, committed type that perhaps isn’t the most fluid or technical with the ball at his feet, however in terms of being a reliable, no-nonsense, robust defender that is going to defend his box properly. He is a decent size, is a good athlete, and to be the central most option in a three or as the more aggressive, front-foot, engaging types in a four, I think that Drysdale is more than reasonable.

Enzio Boldewijn

One player who has been released by their side at the end of the 2023-24 campaign is Enzio Boldewijn. Let go by fellow National League side Eastleigh, I think that Dutchman Boldewijn would be a useful acquisition for The Cards.

Boldewijn is in-keeping with the theme of this list of players that are known to Doyle and Turner. Boldewijn was at Notts County with the pair, and so I wouldn’t be surprised if they have already made contact with the flying winger about the possibility of a deal with The Cards.

One of the benefits is that Boldewijn is a versatile player and can play different roles that is well-suited to the rather fluid, free-flowing, attacking side that Doyle is trying to implement with Woking. He can play as a winger on both sides, and has also been used as a full-back; thus, he is well-suited to the role of a wing-back with defensive appreciation as well as an ability to progress the ball from deep and dribble past players.

He has experience of the division – getting promoted out of it with Sutton United – and competing in and around the play-offs with Notts County. A capable wide player, and I think he ticks a lot of boxes.

Jordan Garrick

Woking have lost two players with the quick, dynamic, attacking profile of Ricky Korboa and Rhys Browne; as such, they need to replace them during the summer. One player who I think may well drop down and would be a decent signing for The Cards despite not having the strongest of seasons in 2023-24 is Jordan Garrick.

With Browne and Korboa departing, The Cards need to find attacking options that are capable of playing wide or through the middle, and that has the raw pace and is direct; on these fronts I think Jordan Garrick is a good option for The Cards. He has shown during his time in the EFL that he is a good athlete that can commit players with his pace, and is someone that looks to make runs in behind often to stretch teams.

Garrick is another that boss Michael Doyle and assistant Ben Turner will know, with Ben Turner having been the assistant at Forest Green Rovers alongside Doyle when they were working under Ian Burchnall. He has good pedigree having come through the academy at Swansea City and so that gives me a basic level of confidence that he has been coached in the right way and that the raw tools are there; they just need to be used correctly.

After being released by Forest Green Rovers following their relegation, he may well have to drop into the fifth tier if he is going to get his next move. I think that joining The Cards would provide him with the ideal opportunity to re-hone his craft, get regular minutes under his belt, and play at a level which he is perhaps better than and as a result to get some consistency to his game which he has perhaps missed in recent campaigns. There is a good player there, and I think he is worth a look.

Jim O’Brien

With Jim O’Brien nearing the end of his career, it will be interesting to see if he decides his next move is a playing capacity or whether he is going to make the move into coaching. I feel that he will want to continue in a playing role – such is the ultimate professional he is – and so with another League Two deal perhaps unlikely following his release by Notts County, I think that a return to the National League is most probable.

If that is the case, I would say that Woking will be near the front of the queue to land him. He is another who is well-known to the management team, with Jim O’Brien playing alongside Michael Doyle during their time together at Notts County and prior to that with Coventry City; O’Brien was also on the books at Meadow Lane alongside Cards assistant Ben Turner. As such, there is a familiarity there in terms of personnel.

I appreciate that The Cards have tended to use a younger profile of player under Doyle, but I think there is still value – regardless of the system he wants to play – to having the odd more experienced player in the squad. He is a fantastic professional that will set the standards in the group, has the first-hand experience of getting promoted out of the division, and is the sort of selfless player that every coach needs.

Maxime Biamou

The final player on this list is a striker. I think that The Cards have missed an outlet this term, albeit finding one is tough. One player – however – that has become available since the end of the campaign that I think would be the perfect addition for The Cards (albeit ambitious) is now former Doncaster Rovers front man Maxime Biamou.

Granted, by this point you have guessed the theme of many of these players on this list; I am a sucker for a coach going back to sign players that he has either worked with or played with before. Biamou was with Coventry City when Doyle was a player, and in terms of knowing how to get the best out of the striker, Doyle certainly has first-hand knowledge of that.

Biamou spent time with Doncaster Rovers this season – signing until the end of the campaign – but was let go by Grant McCann at the end of the year after their shortcomings in the play-offs. He could get a deal in League Two I’d imagine, but after not having many regular minutes in recent campaigns, I think that the adage of dropping down a division into the National League and being more of a number one pick for The Cards is the exact opportunity he needs to get back to the level he is capable of.

The former Sky Blues man is a robust forward with a good physical profile, and represents the perfect balance between being able to lead the line and also being a mobile, athletic type that has the versatility in his game to drop deep, offer an option in behind and get on the end of crosses.