Jaden Kandemiri

Walsall
2026–27 season
Owner	Trivela Group
Co-chairman	Benjamin Boycott,; Leigh Pomlett
Head coach	Lee Grant
Stadium	Bescot Stadium
	← 2025–26 2027–28 →

The 2026–27 season is the 139th season in the history of Walsall Football Club and their eighth consecutive season in League Two. The club are participating in League Two, the FA Cup, the EFL Cup, and the EFL Trophy.

Managerial changes

Prior to the season starting, the club appointed Lee Grant as the new Head Coach on a three-year deal.

Transfers and contracts

In

Date	Pos.	Player	From	Fee
27 June 2026	CM	Sven Sprangler	St Johnstone	Undisclosed
1 July 2026	CB	James Connolly	Crewe Alexandra	Free
1 July 2026	CF	Andrew Dallas	Barnsley
1 July 2026	CM	Lewis Simper	Sutton United
10 July 2026	GK	Jed Ward	Bristol Rovers	Undisclosed
17 July 2026	CF	Tai Sodje	Buxton	Undisclosed
21 July 2026	CB	Ryan Leak	Ross County	Free
28 July 2026	LW	Reece Smith	Harrogate Town	Undisclosed
11 August 2026	RB	Roman Dixon	Everton	Free
18 August 2026	GK	Tom Wooster	West Ham United
24 August 2026	LB	James Furlong	Maribor

^ The transfer was announced on 17 June, and would become official on July 1 once Dallas' contract at Barnsley expired.
^ The transfer was announced on 22 June, and would become official on July 1 once Simper's contract at Sutton expired.

Loaned in

Date	Pos.	Player	From	Loaned until
7 July 2026	CM	Isaac Moore	Coventry City	End of Season
21 July 2026	CB	Declan Skura	Wycombe Wanderers
5 August 2026	CDM	Charlie Crew	Leeds United
1 September 2026	CAM	Antony Evans	Huddersfield Town

Loaned out

Date	Pos.	Player	To	Loaned until
14 August 2026	LWB	Vincent Harper	Exeter City	End of Season
28 August 2026	CM	Will Etheridge	Stourbridge	26 September 2026
21 September 2026	GK	Jenson Kilroy	Malvern Town	19 October 2026
25 September 2026	LM	Ronan Maher	Wealdstone	26 December 2026
29 September 2026	CB	Stan Straw	Redditch United	3 January 2027
17 October 2026	CB	Rico Browne	Woking	January 2027

^ On 3 November, Straw's initial one-month loan at Redditch was extended until January.

Out

Date	Pos.	Player	To	Fee	Ref.
15 June 2026	RB	Connor Barrett	Wigan Athletic	Undisclosed
15 June 2026	GK	Sam Hornby	Hednesford Town	Free transfer

^ The transfer was announced on 10 June, and would become official on June 15 once the transfer window opened.

Released / Out of Contract

Date	Pos.	Player	Subsequent club	Joined date
30 June 2026	CDM	Brandon Comley	Barnet	1 July 2026
	CB	Priestley Farquharson	Crawley Town
	CF	Josh Gordon	Exeter City
	CAM	Jake Hollman	Sydney
	CM	Charlie Lakin	Barnet
	CF	Jamille Matt	Bromsgrove Sporting
	LB	Evan Weir	Peterborough United
	CF	Charlie Wragg	Stourbridge
	CM	Jamie Jellis	Rotherham United	10 July 2026
	CM	Dylan Thomas	Lichfield City	7 August 2026
	CB	Aden Flint	Rochdale	11 September 2026
	CDM	Alfie Chang

New Contract

Date	Pos.	Player	Contract until
6 May 2026	RB	Elicha Ahui	30 June 2027
6 May 2026	GK	Jenson Kilroy
5 June 2026	RW	Albert Adomah
23 June 2026	CB	Rico Browne	30 June 2028

^ Option of a further year in the club's favour

Pre-season and friendlies

On 5 June, Saddlers announced a pre-season fixture against Aston Villa. Four days later, two further fixtures were added to the scheduled against Leamington and AFC Telford United. On 24 June, a fourth friendly was added against Notts County.

Win Draw Loss Fixtures

11 July 2026 Friendly	Leamington	0–0	Walsall	Leamington Spa
15:00 BST		Report		Stadium: Your Co-op Community Stadium

18 July 2026 Friendly	Nottingham Forest U21	2–4	Walsall	West Bridgford
15:00 BST		Report	Dallas (x2) Pressley Sjordesma	Stadium: Nigel Doughty Academy Attendance: 0 (BCD)

21 July 2026 Friendly	Walsall	0–5	Aston Villa	Bescot
19:30 BST		Report	Madjo 24', 45' Hemmings 43' Lynch 68' Borland 70'	Stadium: Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium

25 July 2026 Friendly	AFC Telford United	1–0	Walsall	Wellington
15:00 BST	Trialist A 30'	Report		Stadium: SEAH Stadium

29 July 2026 Friendly	Luton Town	5–0	Walsall	Luton
14:00 BST	Benagr (x2) Luker Morris Wells	Report		Stadium: The Brache Attendance: 0 (BCD)

1 August 2026 Friendly	Walsall	0–0	Notts County	Bescot
15:00 BST		Report		Stadium: Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium Attendance: 1,448 (272 away)

Competitions

League Two

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
4	York City	15	6	5	4	25	21	+4	23	Qualification for League Two play-offs
5	Crewe Alexandra	15	5	8	2	19	19	0	23
6	Walsall	13	5	7	1	21	12	+9	22
7	Chesterfield	15	6	4	5	26	21	+5	22
8	Exeter City	15	6	4	5	12	9	+3	22

Updated to match(es) played on 14 November 2026. Source: EFL Official Website
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results; 5) Wins; 6) Away goals; 7) Penalty points (sec 9.5); 8) 12-point sending off offences

Results summary


Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
13	5	7	1	21	12	+9	22	3	2	1	10	6	+4	2	5	0	11	6	+5

Last updated: 31 October 2026.
Source: Soccerway

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	10	11	12	13	14	15²	16	17	18	19	9¹	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33
Ground	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	A
Result	W	D	W	D	D	D	W	D	D	D	W	L	W	P
Position	1	3	2	3	5	5	2	5	6	5	4	6	3	P
Points	3	4	7	8	9	10	13	14	15	16	19	19	22	P

Source: EFL
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; P = Postponed
Notes:

¹ Matchday 9 (vs. Crawley Town) was postponed due to international call-ups.
² Matchday 15 (vs. Barnet) was postponed due to international call-ups.

Matches

On 25 June, the League Two fixtures were revealed.

Win Draw Loss Fixtures

15 August 2026 1	Gillingham	0–3	Walsall	Gillingham
15:00 BST	Smith 41' Harris 47' McKenzie 58' Hale 90+3'	Report	Ahui 56' Crew 56' Moore 81' Connolly 89' Pressley 90+6'	Stadium: Priestfield Stadium Attendance: 6,125 (511 away) Referee: Emily Heaslip

22 August 2026 2	Walsall	0–0	Grimsby Town	Bescot
12:30 BST	Connolly 74'	Report	Sweeney 68'	Stadium: Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium Attendance: 6,499 (1,167 away) Referee: Matthew Russell
Note: Fixture was initially scheduled for a 15:00 kick-off, but was brought forward for live Sky Sports broadcasting.

29 August 2026 3	Walsall	3–2	Accrington Stanley	Bescot
15:00 BST	Smith 8' Burke 45+6' Sprangler 49' Pressley 53' Moore 75' Skura 79' Ahui 90+1'	Report	Woods 12' Mols 57' Coyle 60' Walton 75' Conneely 90+9'	Stadium: Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium Attendance: 5,116 (115 away) Referee: William Davis

1 September 2026 4	Crewe Alexandra	2–2	Walsall	Crewe
19:45 BST	March 50' Hutchinson 90+2'	Report	Pressley 42' (pen.), 57' Simper 75' Sodje 88'	Stadium: Mornflake Stadium Attendance: 4,918 (1,127 away) Referee: Oliver Mackey

5 September 2026 5	Exeter City	0–0	Walsall	Exeter
15:00 BST		Report	Ahui 77'	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 6,002 (755 away) Referee: Harrison Blair

12 September 2026 6	Walsall	0–0	Rochdale	Bescot
15:00 BST	Crew 29'	Report	Adeeko 53' Gilmour 77' Middelton 90+4'	Stadium: Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium Attendance: 5,669 (381 away) Referee: Jamie O'Connor

19 September 2026 7	Walsall	2–0	Port Vale	Bescot
12:30 BST	Sprangler 27' Ahui 40' Connolly 45+5', 50' Dallas 89'	Report	Dempsey 51' Garrity 84' Moon 90+3'	Stadium: Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium Attendance: 6,902 (1,311 away) Referee: James Oldham
Note: Fixture was initially scheduled for a 15:00 kick-off, but was brought forward for live Sky Sports broadcasting.

26 September 2026 8	Tranmere Rovers	1–1	Walsall	Birkenhead
15:00 BST	Ironside 35' Browne 73'	Report	Sprangler 18' Connolly 35' Smith 90+1'	Stadium: Prenton Park Attendance: 7,229 (802 away) Referee: Stephen Parkinson

10 October 2026 10	Fleetwood Town	1–1	Walsall	Fleetwood
15:00 BST	Bennett 54' Coughlan 61' Neal 74' McCann 76' Helm 80'	Report	Spranger 48' Smith 76' Pressley 82' Moore 90+1'	Stadium: Highbury Stadium Attendance: 3,212 (759 away) Referee: Jamie Robinson

17 October 2026 11	Swindon Town	1–1	Walsall	Swindon
15:00 BST	Drinan 82' Ball 77'	Report	Sodje 55'	Stadium: The Nigel Eady County Ground Attendance: 7,197 (612 away) Referee: Alex Chilowicz

20 October 2026 12	Walsall	3–0	Oldham Athletic	Bescot
19:45 BST	Sodje 9', 21' Crew 20' Pressley 26', 58' (pen.) Simper 32' Ahui 61'	Report	Robson 40' Hudson 58' Fawunmi 62'	Stadium: Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium Attendance: 5,147 (728 away) Referee: Alan Dale

26 October 2026 13	Walsall	2–4	Salford City	Bescot
20:00 BST	Pressley 58' Simper 66' Moore 70'	Report	Langstaff 45' Grant 54' Cesay 67' Oluwo 82'	Stadium: Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium Attendance: 6,395 (326 away) Referee: Martin Coy
Note: Fixture was initially scheduled for 24 October, but was pushed back two days for live Sky Sports broadcasting.

31 October 2026 14	Colchester United	1–3	Walsall	Colchester
15:00 GMT	Payne 35' (pen.) Digby 77'	Report	Skura 3' Ahui 34' Simper 68' Pressley 79' Hancock 83' Clarke 90+6'	Stadium: JobServe Community Stadium Attendance: 4,122 (264 away) Referee: Declan Brown

14 November 2026 15	Walsall	Postponed	Barnet	Bescot
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium
Note: Fixture was postponed due to international call-ups.

21 November 2026 16	York City	v	Walsall	Huntington
15:00 GMT				Stadium: LNER Community Stadium

28 November 2026 17	Walsall	v	Northampton Town	Bescot
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium

1 December 2026 18	Newport County	v	Walsall	Newport
19:45 GMT				Stadium: Rodney Parade

12 December 2026 19	Rotherham United	v	Walsall	Rotherham
15:00 GMT				Stadium: AESSEAL New York Stadium

15 December 2026 9	Walsall	v	Crawley Town	Bescot
19:45 GMT				Stadium: Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium
Note: Fixture was originally scheduled for 3 October, but was postponed due to international call-ups. It was then rescheduled for 15 December.

19 December 2026 20	Walsall	v	Shrewsbury Town	Bescot
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium

26 December 2026 21	Bristol Rovers	v	Walsall	Horfield
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Memorial Stadium

29 December 2026 22	Walsall	v	Chesterfield	Bescot
19:45 GMT				Stadium: Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium

1 January 2027 23	Walsall	v	Cheltenham Town	Bescot
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium

9 January 2027 24	Shrewsbury Town	v	Walsall	Shrewsbury
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Croud Meadow
Note: Fixture was initially scheduled for a 15:00 kick-off, but was brought forward for live Sky Sports broadcasting.

16 January 2027 25	Walsall	v	Swindon Town	Bescot
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium

19 January 2027 26	Oldham Athletic	v	Walsall	Oldham
19:45 GMT				Stadium: Boundary Park

23 January 2027 27	Salford City	v	Walsall	Kersal
12:30 GMT				Stadium: AIG Stadium
Note: Fixture was initially scheduled for a 15:00 kick-off, but was brought forward for live Sky Sports broadcasting.

30 January 2027 28	Walsall	v	Colchester United	Bescot
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium

6 February 2027 29	Accrington Stanley	v	Walsall	Accrington
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Wham Stadium

9 February 2027 30	Walsall	v	Crewe Alexandra	Bescot
20:00 GMT				Stadium: Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium
Note: Fixture was initially scheduled for a 19:45 kick-off, but was pushed back for live Sky Sports broadcasting.

13 February 2027 31	Walsall	v	Exeter City	Bescot
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium

18 February 2027 32	Rochdale	v	Walsall	Spotland
20:00 GMT				Stadium: Crown Oil Arena
Note: Fixture was initially scheduled for 20 February, but was brought forward to Thursday night for live Sky Sports broadcasting.

27 February 2027 33	Barnet	v	Walsall	Edgware
12:30 GMT				Stadium: The Hive Stadium
Note: Fixture was initially scheduled for a 15:00 kick-off, but was brought forward for live Sky Sports broadcasting.

FA Cup

Walsall were drawn away to Newport County in the first round.

Win Draw Loss Fixtures

7 November 2026 First round	Newport County	3–1	Walsall	Newport
15:00 GMT	Etete 19', 60' Adu-Poku 23'	Report	Dallas 7' Crew 28' Hancock 59' Smith 88'	Stadium: Rodney Parade Attendance: 3,205 (495 away) Referee: Rob Massey-Ellis

EFL Cup

Saddlers were drawn away to Bristol City in the first round and home to Leyton Orient in the second round.

Win Draw Loss Fixtures

6 August 2026 First round	Bristol City	0–1	Walsall	Bristol
19:45 BST		Report	Pressley 47' Moore 56' Sprangler 67' Browne 90+2'	Stadium: Ashton Gate Attendance: 9,992 (564 away) Referee: Jacob Miles
Note: Fixture was initially scheduled for 7 August, but was brought forward 24-hours to avoid a clash with the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta.

25 August 2026 Second round	Walsall	0–0 (5–6 p)	Leyton Orient	Walsall
19:45 BST		Report		Stadium: Bescot Stadium Attendance: 2,679 (242 away) Referee: Andrew Humphries
	Penalties
	Simper Clarke Hancock Sodje Pressley Crew Skura		Kabia Hayden Archibald El Mizouni Obiero Stevens Olowu

EFL Trophy

Group stage

Walsall were drawn against Leicester City, Stevenage and Fulham U21 into Southern Group B.

Pos	Div	Team v t e	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	L1	Stevenage	3	2	1	0	0	10	4	+6	8	Advance to Round 2
2	L1	Leicester City	3	2	0	0	1	9	4	+5	6	Advance to Round 2
3	L2	Walsall	3	1	0	0	2	5	10	−5	3
4	ACA	Fulham U21	3	0	0	1	2	5	11	−6	1

Source: EFL

Win Draw Loss Fixtures

22 September 2026 Group stage	Walsall	1–6	Stevenage	Bescot
19:00 BST	Simper 17'	Report	Mellon 11', 42', 58' Marçal 29' Houghton 32' Broggio 63'	Stadium: Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium Attendance: 1,205 Referee: Robert Massey-Ellis

13 October 2026 Group stage	Walsall	3–2	Fulham U21	Bescot
19:00 BST	Sodje 25', 30' Furlong 44'	Report	Kus-Asare 54' Casey 71' Slade 78' Cook 81'	Stadium: Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium Referee: Alan Young

10 November 2026 Group stage	Leicester City	2–1	Walsall	Leicester
19:00 GMT	Lundstram 20' Smallbone 32' Aluko 56'	Report	Dallas 10'	Stadium: King Power Stadium Attendance: 3,083 Referee: Michael Barlow

Statistics

Appearances and goals

As of match played 10 November 2026

Players with no appearances are not included on the list; italics indicate loaned in player

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		League Two		FA Cup		EFL Cup		EFL Trophy
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	ENG	Jed Ward	16	0	13+0	0	1+0	0	2+0	0	0+0	0
2	DF	SKN	Rico Browne	5	0	1+1	0	0+0	0	1+1	0	1+0	0
3	DF	ENG	Mason Hancock	16	0	12+1	0	1+0	0	1+1	0	0+0	0
4	DF	WAL	James Connolly	15	2	12+0	2	0+0	0	1+1	0	1+0	0
5	DF	ENG	Harrison Burke	9	1	1+3	1	0+0	0	2+0	0	3+0	0
6	MF	AUT	Sven Sprangler	17	0	10+3	0	1+0	0	1+0	0	1+1	0
7	FW	ENG	Tai Sodje	17	4	7+5	2	0+1	0	1+0	0	2+1	2
8	MF	WAL	Charlie Crew	18	0	6+6	0	1+0	0	1+1	0	2+1	0
9	FW	SCO	Andrew Dallas	18	3	5+8	1	1+0	1	1+1	0	2+0	1
10	MF	ENG	Lewis Simper	19	2	7+6	1	1+0	0	0+2	0	1+2	1
11	FW	ENG	Reece Smith	17	2	10+3	2	0+1	0	2+0	0	0+1	0
14	MF	ENG	Anthony Evans	3	0	3+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
15	MF	ENG	Isaac Moore	18	1	10+3	1	0+1	0	2+0	0	1+1	0
17	DF	JAM	Courtney Clarke	15	1	7+4	1	1+0	0	1+1	0	1+0	0
19	FW	SCO	Aaron Pressley	17	10	12+0	9	1+0	0	1+1	1	0+2	0
20	DF	ENG	Roman Dixon	3	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
22	DF	ENG	Elicha Ahui	16	0	9+3	0	1+0	0	1+0	0	1+1	0
25	DF	ENG	Declan Skura	15	0	12+0	0	1+0	0	1+1	0	0+0	0
26	DF	WAL	Ryan Leak	10	0	4+2	0	1+0	0	1+0	0	2+0	0
29	DF	IRL	James Furlong	7	1	1+2	0	0+0	0	1+0	0	3+0	1
30	DF	ENG	Stan Straw	1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+1	0
31	GK	ENG	Tom Wooster	3	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	3+0	0
33	MF	ENG	Will Etheridge	3	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
37	FW	GHA	Albert Adomah	9	0	0+5	0	0+1	0	1+0	0	2+0	0
45	DF	ENG	Ellis Harris	2	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+2	0
48	MF	ENG	Archie Bunn	1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	1+0	0
56	MF	ENG	Jaden Kandemiri	1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+1	0
57	FW	ENG	Ryan Sjordesma	4	0	0+0	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	2+1	0

Disciplinary record

As of match played 10 November 2026

Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by squad number when disciplinary points / points per card / number of cards are equal. Players with no cards not included in the list.

Rank	No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	League Two			FA Cup			EFL Cup			EFL Trophy			Total
Rank	No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name
1	15	CM		Isaac Moore	4	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	6	0	0
2	6	CM		Sven Sprangler	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0
3	22	RB		Elicha Ahui	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0
4	4	CB		James Connolly	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
4	8	CDM		Charlie Crew	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
6	7	CF		Tai Sodje	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
6	11	LW		Reece Smith	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
8	2	CB		Rico Browne	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
	3	LB		Mason Hancock	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
	10	CM		Lewis Simper	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
	25	CB		Declan Skura	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Total					20	0	0	3	0	0	6	0	0	0	0	0	29	0	0

Awards

EFL awards

EFL League Two Player of the Month

Month	Player	Result	Ref.
September	Jed Ward	Nominated
October	Aaron Pressley	Nominated

EFL League Two Manager of the Month

Month	Manager	Result	Ref.
August	Lee Grant	Nominated

PFA League One Fans' Player of the Month

Month	Player	Result	Ref.
October	Aaron Pressley	Nominated

References

[4] The transfer was announced on 17 June, and would become official on July 1 once Dallas' contract at Barnsley expired.

[6] The transfer was announced on 22 June, and would become official on July 1 once Simper's contract at Sutton expired.

[23] On 3 November, Straw's initial one-month loan at Redditch was extended until January.

[27] The transfer was announced on 10 June, and would become official on June 15 once the transfer window opened.

[42] Option of a further year in the club's favour

Jaden Kandemiri

Câu lạc bộ hiện tại

Walsall

Thông tin chi tiết (Wikipedia)

Managerial changes

Transfers and contracts