Lewis Dobbin led the line alone while Larin sat out at the London Stadium last Saturday. When Eckert wanted something extra late on, he sent for Divin Mubama, who got just eight minutes.
The squad is too thin up top, and that is precisely the issue that a good January signing is meant to fix. A similar issue produced two of the quietest arrivals of the 2024-25 season.
Sanda and Grønbæk
Joachim Kayi Sanda arrived from Valenciennes in January 2025 for an undisclosed fee and made two appearances, both from the bench. Albert Grønbæk came on loan from Stade Rennais twelve days later and started twice in three games.
Neither cost a fortune. Both were bodies for a squad that needed starters, and both finished the campaign with next to no football to show for it.
Wellington signed on a free that same month and stuck around; he is now the left-back Eckert often turns to when Ryan Manning needs a rest. That makes the other two signings much harder to defend.
Meanwhile, the club sent fringe players elsewhere. Ben Brereton Díaz went to Sheffield United (fair play), Ronnie Edwards to QPR (should have kept him last season) and Dom Ballard to Cambridge United.
The shortlist so far
The first January name to surface is Lukas Nmecha. Leeds would reportedly sell only if they can find cover, according to a Sports Mole report citing TEAMtalk and Football Insider, and his contract at Elland Road runs out in the summer.
A forward like that would play. Saints Marching have floated Nmecha as an Eckert target, with the usual caveats about a rumour, and the logic is the same as it should have been in 2025: sign somebody who arrives wanting minutes and is guaranteed some.
A second job is clearing the decks. Aaron Ramsdale is expected to leave in the new year, and Saints Marching point to Norwich City and Wolverhampton Wanderers as possible destinations. Daniel Peretz made eleven saves at West Ham, so Ramsdale has little chance of regaining the number one shirt.
What should the club ask of every January signing? Will he start within a month, and if not, why is he coming? That question would have stopped Sanda and Grønbæk before the paperwork was done.
Eckert has a squad that is sixth despite a four-point deduction. It does not need bodies. It needs two or three players who can give the manager options, and a recruitment team that treats a January arrival like a starter or does not bother to sign him at all.
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