Leyton Orient Urged To Sign This 28-Year-Old Striker To Replace Charlie Kelman

As they prepare for another season in League One, Leyton Orient are undergoing some major surgery this summer, and with so many holes to fill, one remains of the utmost importance – up-front.

The O’s reached the League One play-off final last summer, but suffered a slender 1-0 defeat to fellow Londoners Charlton Athletic at Wembley Stadium due to a goal scored by Macauley Gillesphey.

Orient built an entertaining and attacking side under the management of Richie Wellens, but it is currently in the midst of something of a purge, and they are yet to identify a solution to their major problem, which will be to replace Charlie Kelman.

Kelman, who spent the season on loan at Brisbane Road from Queens Park Rangers, finished the campaign as the top scorer for the entire division, and he is now naturally set for a return back to the Championship.

As Orient seek to find a replacement for goalkeeper Josh Keeley, who was on loan from Tottenham Hotspur, and also reel from the departures of other key loanees such as Jamie Donley, Jack Currie and Dilan Markanday; they are also dealing with the sales of Ethan Galbraith and Jordan Brown, whilst Dan Agyei has left for Turkish Süper Lig side Kocaelispor.

There is a lot of work for Wellens and Orient to do, but identifying and signing a replacement for the sheer amount of goals scored by Kelman has to be top of the to-do list.

Langstaff can replace the goals of Kelman at Leyton Orient

One man that they should be eyeing up in what would probably be widely deemed as an ambitious coup would be Millwall striker Macaulay Langstaff, who is surely set to be on the move from The Den.

Kelman wasn’t necessarily at last chance saloon, but it would be fair to say that an underwhelming stint at Orient wouldn’t have helped his chance of playing second-tier football anytime soon after a few years of stagnation since moving to Loftus Road from Southend United.

The former United States youth international, though, thrived under the attacking and entertaining style of football implemented by Wellens, and he isn’t the only striker that has benefitted from Wellens’ coaching, with Eoin Doyle at Swindon Town in the last also reigniting his career under the former Leicester City midfielder.

The football that Wellens plays requires a fair bit of pressing and harrying from his striker and forwards, but the overall aim is to ensure they are always in the best position to finish off the enormous amount of chances that his sides create.

That means that, first and foremost, the key trait for a Wellens-coached striker is that instinctive finishing ability, and that is something Langstaff has in abundance.

It could well be argued that Langstaff’s all-round game is limited to the point of, perhaps not being ineffective, but at least a luxury for a side of the profile of Millwall in the Championship, who require a higher level of industry, such as Josh Coburn, or a higher level of outright quality, such as Mihailo Ivanovic, for their striker.

Langstaff, as he showed with his extraordinary goalscoring exploits in the National League and then in League Two with Notts County, whereby he notched 71 goals in 97 games for the Magpies, that he has that strikers’ touch and instinct.

In a team that will be crying out for some high-profile pedigree and quality at the top end of the pitch, Langstaff seems ideally suited to Wellens’ style and what Orient want to achieve.

Langstaff needs to relaunch his career after Millwall spell

It may well be that Alex Neil, in his first pre-season as the Lions’ boss, takes another look at Langstaff and deems him capable of contributing more for the club next season.

But, as it stands, it must surely be the case that the 28-year-old is seeking regular football to rebuild the reputation of 12 months ago that saw him move from Meadow Lane to the second-tier.

It may well be that the jump was simply too much, for now, for a player that had only ever played one season outside of being a non-league journeyman before his move from Gateshead to County in the summer of 2022.

Indeed, proving himself to be capable of scoring at third-tier level may well have been the move he should have made last year, before the two-division jump he took instead.

However, this summer now represents an excellent opportunity for him to re-establish himself as a prolific EFL goalscorer, and a short trip from The Den to Brisbane Road could be the ideal move for all parties.