Six fresh, or somewhat familiar, have so far put pen to paper to join Cheltenham Town for the upcoming League One season. The Robins kicked off their campaign with a 1-1 draw away to Crewe Alexandra as the traveling faithful saw one arrival start and two make the bench. In alphabetical order, here are the new boys at Whaddon Road.
Callum Wright
The first of the familiar faces returning and a very exciting prospect in the midlands, Callum Wright returns for another loan spell after arriving in January of last season. Wright played seventeen league games for the robins and bagged four goals, including an absolute screamer in front of the Sky Sports Cameras in a 4-0 win over former club Tranmere.
Starting out at Tranmere, Wright moved to Premier League Everton followed by Blackburn Rovers in 2016. Leicester came calling in 2018 and one hundred and one youth appearances lead to the midfielder making a loan move to Cheltenham. Wright scored twenty three goals for Leicester’s U23s and U18s, proving to be one to watch for the future and a great signing which was highly anticipated by all robins fans.
Dylan Barkers
We kick things off with twenty one year old midfielder Dylan Barkers who arrived for free from Alvechurch after impressing on trial in preseason. Barkers has joint citizenship between England and The Netherlands and can fill in at centre back if needed. The midfielder has signed a one year contract.
Whilst on trial for Leicester City, Barkers played thirty seven minutes in the Premier League 2, coming on as a substitute in a 6-0 defeat to Liverpool. He started out at Solihull Moors before moving to Guiseley in 2019, followed by a move to Alvechurch in 2020 and now to Cheltenham. Barkers has since returned to Alvechurch until October.
Elliot Bonds
Another face known to the viewers of iFollow, Elliot Bonds has returned on a permanent deal to the club he enjoyed a title success with last season where he appeared on loan from League One champions Hull City. The Guyana international made eight appearances for the robins before a knee injury sustained against Scunthorpe United cut his season short and saw him return to parent club Hull.
The twenty one year old has played seven games for Guyana, making his debut in 2018, playing the full ninety minutes in a 2-1 loss to French Guiana. Bonds had a nomadic footballing upbringing, being on the books of Reading and Brentford before signing a two year scholarship with Dagenham and Redbridge in 2016. Dagenham sent the midfielder on loan to Farnborough before he joined Hull in 2019.
Kyle Vassell
Cheltenham's new number nine came through the door on the ninth of August and made a dream debut the day after, scoring the second goal of the night as Town defeated local rivals Bristol Rovers 2-0 in the Carabao Cup. The hopeful answer to the attacking worries that fans may have, Vassell has found the net twenty four times in League One and has bagged seventy eight times in his senior career.
Cheltenham will be the eighteenth club of the strikers career and will see him come up against former clubs Oxford United, Rotherham, Shrewsbury and Fleetwood in league action.
Owen Evans
A returning player that fans saw in person, Owen Evans made eleven league appearances in the 2019/20 season, a season most remembered for the disappointing second leg of the play off semi final. Evans impressed all with his reactions and shot stopping ability which had done so much to drag Macclesfield Town up to mid table and proved to be a perfect stand in for the injured Scott Flinders.
That season was the last of six loans from parent club Wigan Athletic as the goalkeeper signed a two year deal with Michael Duff’s side over the summer. Witton Albion, Rhyl, North Ferriby and Sutton United mean that Evans’ experience ranges from the Northern Premier League to the top tier of Welsh football, culminating in what may be a busy season in England’s third tier.
Taylor Perry
Finally is Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Taylor Perry. This is the first loan of the twenty year old’s career who has progressed through the Wolves academy and , in 2019, made his senior debut in a Carabao Cup win over Reading, coming off the bench in the 4-2 penalty shoot out win.
Perry has made three Premier League appearances for the midlands club and played five times in the Papa Johns Trophy. The midfielder also played for Wolves in their 2019 Premier League Asia Trophy triumph in 2019, scoring in the penalty shoot out against current Premier League champions Manchester City. He also appeared in a 1-0 defeat to Crewe in a preseason friendly in July.
Clubs still have until the thirty first of August to complete and bring in new signings so it can be expected that at least one new face will come through the door, with all new signings added here once they're announced.
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