How This Free Agent Turned Lincoln Into Title Contenders

Reach-ing For The Stars: The EFL’s Best Free Agent Pickup This Season

Free transfers are the lifeblood of the EFL; in a pyramid where funding is limited and turnover is minimal, free agents are a cost-effective, sensible way of building a solid foundation for the future of the club.

The majority of free agents turn out to be average signings, most of whom are 30 or over, and more often than not their performances show exactly why they were without a club in the first place.

However, every now and then, a truly special exception comes along, one who instantly gels with their new team, becomes the focal point, and provides very real hope that a corner is about to be turned.

This is exactly the impact Adam Reach has had since arriving at League One Lincoln City in the summer - the left-back has been nothing short of exceptional for the Imps, a dominant presence in the flank whose vast experience and abundance of quality has turned the club from mid-table lingerers to title contenders.

🦉 With Sheffield Wednesday facing West Brom tonight, it only felt right to rewatch this 🚀 from Adam Reach#swfc pic.twitter.com/20Z51jIyyv

— Yorkshire Post Sport (@YPSport) October 3, 2023

Why has Reach been so effective in England’s third tier this season? And how did Lincoln manage to pick up a player of his quality on a free transfer in the first place?

How It Started

Reach looked destined for greatness from the outset - a goal on his senior debut in the Championship for Middlesbrough certainly had fans very excited about the then-18-year-old.

However, loan spells and limited minutes meant he was never given the opportunity to capitalise on his early momentum and, despite playing 78 times for Boro, he was never able to nail down his spot as first-choice left back.

His many loan spells included stints at Darlington. Shrewsbury Town, Bradford City and even fellow Championship side Preston, and over time, his lack of favour at the Riverside Stadium became more and more baffling, as Reach thrived each time he was sent on another loan spell.

Across these four seasons, he netted 12 times, an excellent return for a left back, and in the one season he was a consistent starter for Boro (2014/15), he contributed three goals and seven assists, underlining his excellence going forward as well as when on the back foot.

A adam reach goal reel would have you thinking he was a 100m player

Reality is he can't tackle, beat a man and half of time looks like a rabbit in headlights #swfc https://t.co/eL5cMLp7nQ

— Gav risk 🦉 (@Gavrisk) December 29, 2025

After his loan spell at Preston the next season, where he netted a further three and set up four, Middlesbrough eventually deemed him surplus to requirements, and he was allowed to make a switch to Sheffield Wednesday for a not insignificant £4.5 million in the summer of 2016.

It was at the Owls where Reach finally started to receive regular first-team football - across a five-year spell at Hillsborough Stadium, the Englishman never played fewer than 40 games in a campaign, and his output seemed to go up exponentially.

He would score 24 times for the club and assist a further 33, equating to a goal or assist every four and a bit games - not bad for a defender!

The 2018/19 campaign was by far his best season, and saw him score a remarkable nine goals alongside another seven assists. At this point, Reach truly was operating at a Premier League level, and on multiple occasions was linked with a move to one of the lesser top-flight sides.

🚀 Enjoy some absolute screamers from new signing Adam Reach! pic.twitter.com/eMNMDCsOvZ

— Wycombe Wanderers (@wwfcofficial) February 3, 2025

However, a Premier League move never materialised and, after five years at Wednesday, Reach was allowed to leave on a free transfer for West Brom in August of 2021. Why he was allowed to leave at the end of his contract is still up for debate, but it seems that the Owls' financial difficulties this year answer part of that question - even four years ago, they were unable to pay substantial wages to their best players, and perhaps could not even guarantee reliable pay.

The move ended up being a catastrophe for Reach - he played 36 games in his first season, but his output was reduced to just four goal contributions the entire campaign, and over the next two, he would register just one solitary assist, resulting in West Brom losing patience with him and fobbing him off to League One Wycombe.

Here too Reach was out of sorts, failing to contribute to a single goal in 15 appearances for the club. It seemed the competitive part of his career was behind him, and that he would now spend the rest of his days in pursuit of one more decent pay cheque until retirement. That is, before Lincoln City came knocking …

How It’s Going

Given his form for same-division rivals Wycombe, hopes were not high for Reach when he arrived at the LNER Stadium - the Imps simply thought they had signed a has-been, a player past his best and with little, if anything else, to offer in his career.

Message @LincolnCity_FC
New Created Lyrics for Adam Reach
"Reach for the stars"
He climb every mountain high
Reach for the stars
Follow his heart's desires
Reach for the stars
When the rainbow's shining over him
That's when our dreams will come true 🎵 #WeAreImps https://t.co/iZ6CiYviZp

— Cornell (@brumantcornell) December 30, 2025

If everyone had hats, they would be eating them right now, as ever since the first day of the season, Reach has been delivering a clinic on how League One football should be played.

Though he may have lost a yard of pace now he is into his 30s, that hasn’t stopped the left-back from thriving: his experience means his positioning, anticipation and technique are by far the best on the pitch, and moreover, age seems not to have diminished that creative spark that makes him so effective in attack.

His performance against Barnsley last night personified the quality he has brought to the side this season: he recovered the ball six times, whipped in eight crosses with a 25% success rate, and managed 47 touches of the ball, highlighting how important he is to Michael Skubala’s side when in possession.

To top it all off, he scored one of the best goals you are likely to see in the entirety of 2026, and the year hasn’t even begun yet. Sending a volley from outside the box crashing into the net via the underside of the bar takes some doing, and Reach made it look truly effortless. It was certainly a very tasty icing on top of the 2-0 victory cake.

The man that’s never scored a tap-in Adam Reach (32) scored this absolute rocket to help Lincoln City beat Barnsley this evening 🚀🤩#WeAreImps

pic.twitter.com/Bp0KCbBYt8

— eflpublished (@eflpublished) December 29, 2025

And it wasn’t as if people were surprised - Reach has made a habit of scoring spectacular goals throughout his career, and for him, this was simply another one to add to the scrapbook.

What Next for Reach and Lincoln?

Thanks to an unexpected Reach resurgence, Lincoln find themselves all the way up in a dizzying second place, just three points behind league leaders Cardiff City, albeit having played a game more.

Their lofty placing is a far cry from previous campaigns - the Imps haven’t ended a season in the play-off or promotion spots since 2021, when they finished fifth in League One, and would lose out to Blackpool in the play-off final.

Since then, the best they have managed is 7th, which came back in 2024 - finishing 11th last campaign, we can guarantee that very few, if any Lincoln fans had their eye on a surprise promotion push this season; their squad and transfer business initially didn’t look like any more than a few mid-table reinforcements.

Adam Reach has changed all that, though - a man with so much know-how from his days in the Championship, the left-back knows what is required to win, and though he never managed to earn promotion in the second tier, this season could once again see the old “better late than never” cliche proved true.

"Best decision I've had" - Adam Reach

The @LincolnCity_FC defender says he wants to end his career at the Imps.

🎧 Hear more from Adam Reach and Michael Skubala on Red Imps Club: https://t.co/6slNmaedzH pic.twitter.com/rkwK7DP7te

— BBC Sport Lincolnshire (@BBCSportLincs) December 30, 2025

However, stating after the win at Barnsley that he loves the club and would like to retire there, he is certainly giving himself the platform to achieve that elusive promotion with the Imp's.

One thing is certain though - as long as Reach is fit, in the team and playing well, Lincoln will be reach-ing for the stars …