Conor McGrandles

Conor McGrandles was part of the Lincoln City side that won the EFL League One title in 2025–26 with a club-record 103 points, and the season ended with a 29-game unbeaten run. Supporters and team-mates both singled him out: he was named Lincoln's Players' Player of the Year and Supporters' Player of the Year. Promotion to the Championship followed, and he has appeared in every team game so far in the 2026–27 season.

The route to that point was not straight. McGrandles came through the youth academy at Falkirk and made his senior debut in 2012. He played 65 league games for them before Norwich City signed him in August 2014 for a reported £1 million, a club-record sale for Falkirk.

Norwich did not work out. He made one league appearance and spent much of his time with the under-21s. A loan back at Falkirk in 2016 brought five appearances, and in May 2017 he left Norwich on a free transfer when his contract expired.

Milton Keynes Dons gave him regular football: 75 league appearances between 2017 and 2020, before his contract was ended by mutual consent. In July 2020 he joined Lincoln on a free transfer and became a key player, with 78 league appearances over the next two years.

He left for Charlton Athletic in 2022 and spent a loan spell at Cambridge United in 2023, where he made 19 appearances. Lincoln brought him back on loan in 2024 for five appearances, then in June 2024 signed him permanently, paying Charlton an undisclosed fee for the remainder of his contract. His deal runs until June 2027.