Mansfield Town secure first new face of January transfer window and chase two more

Stags boss Nigel Clough today secured 25-year-old attacking Barnsley midfield Jon Russell until the end of the season.

Aware that it was this time last year that a glut of injuries saw Stags go on a terrible run of form, and with seven players still sidelined at the moment, Clough is determined there will be no repeat as he bolsters his numbers for a very busy second half of the season.

“Jon has been playing against us for a few seasons and we have always liked and admired him,” said Clough.

“He plays a sort of forward midfield role, so we are delighted he is going to come in and help us in that area.”

The Jamaica international, who has five goals in 17 appearances for his nation, began his career at Chelsea.

The 25-year-old moved on loan to Accrington Stanley in October 2020 where he made 25 appearances, scoring twice.

Russell left the Blues for Huddersfield in 2021. The 6ft 4in box-to-box midfielder stayed at Accu Stadium for one-and-a-half seasons before signing for Barnsley in January 2023 for an undisclosed fee.

In his time at the Tykes, he received his first call-up to the Jamaica national team.

Stags’ new signing climbed off the bench against Mexico for his Reggae Boyz debut in a CONCACAF Nations League encounter in March 2023.

Russell said: “I am very happy to be here.

“I have met the staff, and they're really good guys, and some of the players.

“I am really excited to be here and can't wait to get going.

“This is perfect timing and Mansfield were keen to bring me in. I want to be somewhere where the club values me, so it was a no-brainer to come here.

“My season at Barnsley has not been great playing-wise. So I am happy to be here to show what I can do.”

Russell was a late sub in Stags' recent 3-2 comeback win at Barnsley after trailing 2-0 and he said: “That is another of the reasons I came as I know they are a very good team.

“They have experience and showed heart to come back and win that game.

“It was a really good comeback and quite impressive to watch.”

On his own attributes, he said: “I will show heart, grit and hunger to win tackles and I want to make the box to score goals and make things happen.

“I scored a lot of goals the previous season, with other contributions, and I want to keep that up. But I also want to defend and help stop the ball going into our net.

“I will be encouraging to other players and try to be a leader out there to help the team win games.”

Russell has been in a Barnsley squad that includes ex-Stags Davis Keillor-Dunn and Caylan Vickers and said: “I spoke to them both and they said a lot of good things about this club.

“My contract is up this summer. So my challenge is getting into the team and showing everyone what I can do to build myself and progress my career as well with the help of Mansfield.”

Clough is continuing his search for new faces and said: “We feel it is mostly forward areas where we needed bolstering.

“While Rhys Oates was suspended, Will Evans was carrying the can totally for the team. So we needed help up there and we are delighted we now have these two in forward areas.”

Stags are hoping to tie up another loan signing this week and Clough added: “We are also trying for a third – it's probably 50-50 at the moment as to whether it gets done or not. He also plays in a forward area.

“That one could be a loan or a permanent move. There is the potential for both at the moment.

“You are only allowed to use five loanees in your 18 so we are trying to make it into a permanent.

“Otherwise, I think we are okay defensively and we have lots of options back there.

“We still have seven or eight players out and I don't see any of those coming back for the weekend.”

Stags will certainly need all hands on deck between now and May.

“After the game was off at Rotherham, we still have Reading to arrange and another international break to factor in, and if we were to fluke a result at Sheffield United this weekend, you are looking at a minimum of 24 games in 14-15 weeks,” said Clough.

“So I think we are going to be playing most midweeks between now and the end of the season, which was another reason to try to bolster the squad.

“Going into this period we are very conscious that 12 months ago this is where our season derailed – for different reasons. But we certainly lost a few players.

“We lost at home to Wigan in the FA Cup and that started a horrific two months with a horrendous set of results.”

Stags have already had enquiries for current players and may yet let one or two go out, but there is no pressure on Clough to do so.

“Players do not necessarily have to go to make way for these new faces, though there may be a bit of movement and one or two going out,” he said.

“The good thing is we are in a position to be able to bring them in first. “That is the most important thing and we can look at it then from there.

“We have had a couple of inquiries and offers for players but are not entertaining those.

“It has been more about getting these players in and also trying to secure some of the players we have on longer term deals.

“We got Rhys Oates sorted out last week and Louis Reed I think is done as well. But there are two or three more we'd like to do in this window if we can.”