The Mysterious Case of Matthew Craig

So as the dust settles on the transfer window slamming shut (why does it slam? why not gently slide....always baffles me). A number of youth players have gone on loan to get experience, I'm fully behind Mikey Moore going to Rangers getting game time not only in the league but also Europa League. My only concern here is Rangers are awful at the moment. However that's not where we are focusing our time today. Today we focus on Matthew Craig, who joined us at the age of 12 with his twin brother Michael Craig, who this summer joined Leyton Orient following the expiration of his contract at Reading.

Matty has played through the years and made his full debut against Leeds in 2023 off the bench. Captaining the youth teams, always highly thought of, he has become a bit of a forgotten man. I thought maybe we retained him to name him in the ECL squad as one of the academy trained players but he wasn't on the list. He's now overage for the under 21's and hasn't featured in any of the squads so what has become of him.

Matthew Craig - 2024/25

Last season he was on loan at Barnsley. then recalled to join Mansfield, scoring one goal. I fear that he's going to be just wasting his career being used as as an extra body for training. He signed a contract in 2024 until 2026, but at 22 he must want to be playing games. I don't understand why he hasn't been moved on either on loan or permanently and it feels such a shame for someone who has shown so much promise but is being stuck in no mans land.

So what will become of him and what's next? Well unless I'm mistaken and the EFL clubs can still loan players he's very much stuck unless he ends up going to a European club where the windows are still open. I very much believe he will likely end up at Orient either in January or next season. With so many exciting players coming through the ranks the Matthew Craig's of this world will ultimately slip and I will wish him well with wherever he ends up.