# 2023–24 Walsall F.C. season

The 2023–24 season is the 136th season in the history of Walsall and their fifth consecutive season in League Two. The club are participating in 2023–24 EFL League Two, the FA Cup, the EFL Cup, and the 2023–24 EFL Trophy.

## Current squad

    As of 12 March 2024
| No. | Name | Position | Place of birth | Date of birth (Age) | Previous club | Date signed | Fee | Contract end |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| 1 | Owen Evans | GK | Newport | (1996-11-28) 28 November 1996 (age 27) | Cheltenham Town | 1 July 2022 | Undisclosed | 30 June 2024 |
| 22 | Jackson Smith | GK | Telford | (2001-10-14) 14 October 2001 (age 22) | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 21 July 2023 | Undisclosed | 30 June 2024 |
| 32 | George Barrett | GK | | | Academy | 25 November 2022 | Trainee | 30 June 2024 |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| 2 | David Okagbue | CB | | (2003-10-05) 5 October 2003 (age 21) | Stoke City | 1 September 2023 | Loan | 31 May 2024 |
| 3 | Liam Gordon | LB | London | (1999-05-15) 15 May 1999 (age 25) | Bolton Wanderers | 1 July 2022 | Free | 30 June 2025 |
| 4 | Oisin McEntee | CB | Shercock | (2001-01-05) 5 January 2001 (age 23) | Newcastle United | 1 July 2022 | Free | 30 June 2025 |
| 5 | Donervon Daniels | CB | Plymouth | (1993-11-24) 24 November 1993 (age 30) | Crewe Alexandra | 24 January 2022 | Undisclosed | 30 June 2025 |
| 6 | Priestley Farquharson | CB | London | (1997-03-15) 15 March 1997 (age 27) | Newport County | 1 July 2023 | Free | 30 June 2025 |
| 12 | Joe Foulkes | RB | Dudley | (2003-06-23) 23 June 2003 (age 21) | Academy | 1 July 2021 | Trainee | 30 June 2024 |
| 19 | Harry Williams | CB | | (2002-08-15) 15 August 2002 (age 22) | Alvechurch | 20 July 2023 | Undisclosed | 30 June 2024 |
| 24 | Rollin Menayese | CB | Kinshasa | (1997-12-04) 4 December 1997 (age 26) | Mansfield Town | 4 January 2022 | Undisclosed | 30 June 2024 |
| 31 | Cayden Bennett | CB | | | Academy | 13 November 2023 | Trainee | 30 June 2024 |
| 36 | Emmanuel Adegboyega | CB | Dundalk | (2003-09-16) 16 September 2003 (age 21) | Norwich City | 4 January 2024 | Loan | 31 May 2024 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| 7 | Joe Riley | DM | Blackpool | (1996-12-06) 6 December 1996 (age 27) | Carlisle United | 1 July 2022 | Free | 30 June 2024 |
| 8 | Isaac Hutchinson | AM | Eastbourne | (2000-04-10) 10 April 2000 (age 24) | Derby County | 1 July 2022 | Free | 30 June 2025 |
| 14 | Brandon Comley | CM | Islington | (1995-11-18) 18 November 1995 (age 28) | Dagenham & Redbridge | 1 July 2022 | Free | 30 June 2026 |
| 17 | Jack Earing | CM | Bury | (1999-01-21) 21 January 1999 (age 25) | FC Halifax Town | 1 July 2021 | Undisclosed | 30 June 2025 |
| 21 | Taylor Allen | LM | Walsall | (2000-06-16) 16 June 2000 (age 24) | Forest Green Rovers | 1 July 2022 | Free | 30 June 2024 |
| 25 | Ryan Stirk | DM | Birmingham | (2000-09-25) 25 September 2000 (age 24) | Birmingham City | 1 July 2023 | Free | 30 June 2025 |
| 26 | Ross Tierney | CM | Dublin | (2001-03-06) 6 March 2001 (age 23) | Motherwell | 24 July 2023 | Loan | 31 May 2024 |
| 27 | Dylan Thomas | CM | | | Academy | 22 August 2023 | Trainee | 30 June 2024 |
| 30 | Jamie Jellis | CM | Aylesbury | (2001-01-12) 12 January 2001 (age 23) | Tamworth | 25 January 2024 | Undisclosed | 30 June 2025 |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| 9 | Jamille Matt | CF | Kingston | (1989-10-20) 20 October 1989 (age 34) | Forest Green Rovers | 13 January 2023 | Undisclosed | 30 June 2024 |
| 10 | Tom Knowles | LW | Cambridge | (1998-09-27) 27 September 1998 (age 26) | Yeovil Town | 4 August 2022 | Undisclosed | 30 June 2024 |
| 11 | Douglas James-Taylor | CF | London | (2001-11-18) 18 November 2001 (age 22) | Stoke City | 1 July 2023 | Free | 30 June 2024 |
| 18 | Josh Gordon | CF | Stoke-on-Trent | (1994-10-10) 10 October 1994 (age 29) | Burton Albion | 11 January 2024 | Loan | 31 May 2024 |
| 20 | Aramide Oteh | CF | Lee | (1998-09-10) 10 September 1998 (age 26) | Crawley Town | 24 July 2023 | Free | 30 June 2024 |
| 23 | Modou Faal | CF | | (2003-02-11) 11 February 2003 (age 21) | West Bromwich Albion | 15 January 2024 | Loan | 31 May 2024 |
| 33 | Jaiy Leydon | CF | | | Academy | 13 November 2023 | Trainee | 30 June 2024 |
| 34 | Charlie Wragg | CF | | | Academy | 13 November 2023 | Trainee | 30 June 2024 |
| 39 | Danny Johnson | CF | Middlesbrough | (1993-02-28) 28 February 1993 (age 31) | Mansfield Town | 1 July 2023 | Free | 30 June 2025 |
| Out on Loan ||||||||||
| 16 | Ronan Maher | CM | Birmingham | (2004-12-30) 30 December 2004 (age 19) | Academy | 1 July 2022 | Trainee | 30 June 2025 |
| — | Evan Weir | LB | Ratoath | (2002-04-16) 16 April 2002 (age 22) | Drogheda United | 1 January 2024 | Free | 30 June 2025 |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Pos | Player | Transferred from | Fee |
| 1 July 2023 | CB | Priestley Farquharson | Newport County | Free Transfer |
| 1 July 2023 | LB | Chris Hussey | Stockport County | Free Transfer |
| 1 July 2023 | ST | Douglas James-Taylor | Stoke City | Free Transfer |
| 1 July 2023 | ST | Danny Johnson | Mansfield Town | Free Transfer |
| 1 July 2023 | DM | Ryan Stirk | Birmingham City | Free Transfer |
| 20 July 2023 | CB | Harry Williams | Alvechurch | Undisclosed |
| 21 July 2023 | GK | Jackson Smith | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Undisclosed |
| 24 July 2023 | CF | Aramide Oteh | Crawley Town | Free Transfer |
| 1 January 2024 | LB | Evan Weir | Drogheda United | Undisclosed |
| 25 January 2024 | CM | Jamie Jellis | Tamworth | Undisclosed |

### Out

| Date | Pos | Player | To | Fee |
| 30 June 2023 | CF | Timmy Abraham | Boreham Wood | Released |
| 30 June 2023 | CB | Peter Clarke | Warrington Town | Released |
| 30 June 2023 | DM | Liam Kinsella | Swindon Town | Released |
| 30 June 2023 | CM | Joss Labadie | Solihull Moors | Released |
| 30 June 2023 | AM | Jacob Maddox | Forest Green Rovers | Released |
| 30 June 2023 | CB | Manny Monthé | Northampton Town | Released |
| 30 June 2023 | CF | Jonas Mukuna | Farnborough | Released |
| 30 June 2023 | CM | Sam Perry | Waterford | Released |
| 30 June 2023 | RB | Hayden White | Ebbsfleet United | Released |
| 30 June 2023 | CF | Conor Wilkinson | Motherwell | Released |
| 30 June 2023 | CF | Andy Williams | Hereford | Released |
| 21 July 2023 | CF | Shay Willock | Alvechurch | Free Transfer |
| 13 September 2023 | LB | Chris Hussey | Stratford Town | Released |
| 2 January 2024 | CM | Marvellous Onabirekhanlen | Sporting Khalsa | Released |

### Loaned in

| Date | Pos | Player | Loaned from | Date until |
| 7 July 2023 | CF | Freddie Draper | Lincoln City | 5 January 2024 |
| 24 July 2023 | AM | Ross Tierney | Motherwell | End of Season |
| 1 September 2023 | DM | Harvey Griffiths | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2 January 2024 |
| 1 September 2023 | CB | David Okagbue | Stoke City | End of Season |
| 4 January 2024 | CB | Emmanuel Adegboyega | Norwich City | End of Season |
| 11 January 2024 | CF | Josh Gordon | Burton Albion | End of Season |
| 15 January 2024 | CF | Modou Faal | West Bromwich Albion | End of Season |

### Loaned out

| Date | Pos | Player | Loaned to | Until |
| 9 August 2023 | CM | Marvellous Onabirekhanlen | Stourbridge | 3 September 2023 |
| 25 August 2023 | CM | Ronan Maher | Rushall Olympic | 7 November 2023 |
| 6 September 2023 | CM | Marvellous Onabirekhanlen | Chasetown | 13 November 2023 |
| 14 September 2023 | GK | George Barrett | Paget Rangers | 12 October 2023 |
| 1 January 2024 | LB | Evan Weir | Drogheda United | End of Season |
| 25 January 2024 | CB | Rollin Menayese | Aldershot Town | 12 March 2024 |
| 26 January 2024 | CM | Ronan Maher | Rushall Olympic | End of Season |
* ↑ On 5 January, Draper was recalled back early to Lincoln.
* ↑ On 2 January, Griffiths was recalled back early to Wolves.
* ↑ On 7 November, Maher was recalled back early from his loan at Rushall Olympic.
* ↑ On 16 October, Onabirekhanlen's loan at Chasetown was extended by a further month.
* ↑ On 12 March, Menayese was recalled back early from his loan at Aldershot.

## Pre-season and friendlies

On 23 May, Walsall announced their first pre-season friendly, against Solihull Moors. Two further matches were added on June 2, against Leamington and Aston Villa. In memory of Wayne Evans, a pre-season fixture against Rochdale was added.
Win  Draw  Loss  Fixtures

## Competitions
### Overall record

| Competition | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| League Two | Matchday 1 | | 25 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 39 | 36 | +3 | 040.00 |
| FA Cup | First round | Third round | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | +0 | 050.00 |
| EFL Cup | First round | First round | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 000.00 |
| EFL Trophy | Group stage | Group stage | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 000.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | 33 | 12 | 8 | 13 | 52 | 52 | +0 | 036.36 |
Last updated: 6 January 2024 Source: Soccerway

### League Two
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 8 | Barrow | 46 | 18 | 15 | 13 | 62 | 56 | +6 | 69 |
| 9 | Bradford City | 46 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 61 | 59 | +2 | 69 |
| 10 | AFC Wimbledon | 46 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 64 | 51 | +13 | 65 |
| 11 | Walsall | 46 | 18 | 11 | 17 | 69 | 73 | −4 | 65 |
| 12 | Gillingham | 46 | 18 | 10 | 18 | 46 | 57 | −11 | 64 |
| 13 | Harrogate Town | 46 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 60 | 69 | −9 | 63 |
| 14 | Notts County | 46 | 18 | 7 | 21 | 89 | 86 | +3 | 61 |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 20 April 2024. Source: Soccerway

#### Matches

On 22 June, the EFL League Two fixtures were released.
Win  Draw  Loss  Fixtures

### FA Cup

Walsall were drawn away to Sheppey United in the first round, to Alfreton Town in the second round and away to Southampton in the third round.
Win  Draw  Loss  Fixtures

### EFL Cup

Walsall were drawn away to Blackburn Rovers in the first round.
Win  Draw  Loss  Fixtures

### EFL Trophy

In the group stage, Walsall were drawn into Southern Group A alongside Forest Green Rovers, Shrewsbury Town and Brighton & Hove Albion U21.
| Pos | Div | Teamvte | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L2 | Forest Green Rovers | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | ACA | Brighton & Hove Albion U21 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | L1 | Shrewsbury Town | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 5 | |
| 4 | L2 | Walsall | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 1 | |
Win  Draw  Loss  Fixtures