"An ideal candidate" - Swindon Town urged to pursue late Reading FC transfer deal in dream window statement | OneFootball

FLW's Swindon Town fan pundit has given his view on what a dream end to the January transfer window for the club would look like.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

It has been a disappointing season for Swindon Town in League Two, but there have been signs of improvement under manager Ian Holloway in recent weeks.

Holloway endured a nightmare start to his tenure after replacing Mark Kennedy in October as he failed to win any of his first four league games, but it seems the 61-year-old is now starting to have an impact.

Swindon have significantly eased their relegation fears after a run of just two defeats in their last 10 matches, and they are now 18th in the League Two table, 10 points clear of the drop zone.

Holloway has been allowed to bring in two new players during the January transfer window so far, with strikers Tom Nichols and Joe Westley joining on loan from Mansfield Town and Burnley respectively, and the latter made an immediate impact as he scored the winner in the Robins' 2-1 victory at Newport County on Friday night.

Speaking ahead of Tuesday night's game against Tranmere Rovers, Holloway said that Swindon are potentially close to another new signing, and he also revealed that he is "getting more and more interesting calls" from players who have worked with him in the past about the possibility of making the move to the County Ground.

Swindon Town told to target Reading goalkeeper David Button

When asked what his dream end to the January transfer window would look like, FLW's Swindon Town fan pundit Ciaran Daniel urged the club to make a move for an experienced goalkeeper before the deadline, such as Reading's David Button.

As the Robins currently have six loan players on their books, Ciaran also said that goalkeeper Daniel Barden and defender Miguel Freckleton should be sent back to their parent clubs to free up space for another temporary addition.

"An absolute dream end to the window would be that we get a left-back, a right-back, a centre-back, an experienced goalkeeper and another player that's like Ollie Clarke in the centre of the park to interchange with him," Ciaran said.

"He can't play Saturday/Tuesday, and he's a bit injury prone as well.

"Realistically, I can't see many incomings, I can see more outgoings than incomings.

"I'd like to see Tariq Uwakwe leave the club, he's clearly not in the plans, and I could see his contract being terminated on deadline day if no offers come in before then to allow him to find a new club.

"I'd quite like to see Miguel Freckleton's loan terminated, but I know there have been issues with Sheffield United with that, so unless they can find somewhere else for him to go, he's not going to go.

"I would also like to see Daniel Barden's loan terminated as he's not any better than Jack Bycroft, who we've got as our number one.

"I'd like to see those terminated as it frees up loan spots because we're currently hitting the maximum, then we could get in either a wonderkid or an experienced goalkeeper on loan.

"We could also maybe get a left-back in on loan as our current left-back, George Cox, is quite injury prone, and Billy Kirkman is out for at least another three to four weeks.

"I'd love to see us go out and get David Button from Reading as a new goalkeeper, but I think that might be slightly unrealistic because of how much we'd be willing to pay in wages and the fact that he looks quite comfortable there even though he's not playing.

"He'd be an ideal candidate for an experienced goalkeeper.

"With centre-backs and left-backs, I'd take getting one in on loan from a Premier League club or an absolute wonderkid from non-league, they would be ideal candidates.

"We're not going to pay a fee for anyone, unless it's from the non-league, and even then, the kind of fees we're going to pay will be like National League South downwards, so I'm not sure if they would be up to speed quick enough.

"I think we'll see a few more outgoings, with Paul Glatzel likely going out on loan to a National League club, but I can't see too many incomings now all those loan spots have been taken up."

Ian Holloway will be hoping for more Swindon Town backing

Just a few weeks ago, it looked like the January transfer window would be crucial to Swindon's survival prospects, but the recent upturn in results means that Holloway will likely be happy to stick with much of his existing squad until the summer.

However, after adding extra quality in Nichols and Westley, Holloway may be hoping for a little more backing from owner Clem Morfuni in the final days of the window to address some of the problem areas in the squad that Ciaran outlined.

Button was Reading's number one goalkeeper last season, but he has lost his place to Joel Pereira this campaign, so he could be a realistic goalkeeper target for the Robins if they can afford a deal.