Charlton Athletic midfielder Aaron Henry has joined League Two Crawley Town on a season long loan as announced by the the club’s official website.
The 19-year-olds move has been confirmed by Crawley Town, with his registration documents being submitted prior to friday’s deadline meaning he can take a spot in the squad for today’s League Two opener against Bradford City. Despite his young age he has made 14 appearances in the league for his parent club, including three starts. During the 21/22 season he joined Wealdstone on loan where he played 20 games in the National League before returning.
Crawley Town will be hoping to better their finish last season, narrowly avoiding relegation in the final few games with Hartlepool United and Rochdale dropping to the National League. Scott Lindsey’s side have been seen more major departures with fan favourite Ashley Nadesan moving to Gillingham on a permanent deal. The transfer strategy has been criticised by many for it’s focus on non-league signings or players with a lack of experience. Many pundits and experts have predicted another relegation battle for the Red Devils this season.
Charlton Athletic on the other hand will be hoping to push on up the table, manager Dean Holden has added well to his squad and the saga of the club’s sale coming to an end. Charlton are tipped by several including The Real EFL’s Gary Hutchinson on The Real EFL podcast to be a dark horse alongside Oxford United in League One this year.
Seal deal: Charlton Athletic seal deal for top talented star (W)
Writer’s View
It’s another inexperienced signing for Crawley Town. I’m not sure if it’s a reduced budget or another example of “wagmi-nomics” with their trend of choosing up and coming or project players over experience or more “obvious” choices for signings. The focus on National League signings will however be a concern and I believe it will be another long and difficult seasons for fans of the club.
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WELSH INTERNATIONAL MATT SMITH LEAVES MK DONS FOR ST JOHNSTONE
Welsh international midfielder Matt Smith has left MK Dons to join Scottish top-flight side St Johnstone.
Smith moves from Milton Keynes to join the Perth-based club, where he has signed a two-year contract. It has not been announced by either club if this is for a free transfer or if any transfer fee changed hands.
The 22-year-old had joined MK Dons in January 2022 from Manchester City, having previously spent time on loan with Dutch side FC Twente, with Championship clubs and having been a regular for Doncaster in League One in the 2020/21 season.
But Smith struggled for consistent game time at stadium mk, making just 4 appearances after first joining the club, and 29 last season, with no first-team appearances made after February 2023.
Smith did make 4 appearances for the Welsh national team in 2022, with the midfielder up to 19 caps for Wales and earning a call-up to their squad for the World Cup in Qatar, although he did not make an appearance at the finals.
In an arrival interview on St Johnstone’s SaintsTV platform, Smith said he was delighted to get going.
He said, “I am delighted, everything happened quite quickly but I am delighted to be here and I can’t wait to get going.
“The platform of the league and the fans here makes this an exciting move for me. It is a long way from home and somewhere that it out of my comfort zone. This is a move that made sense for me in every aspect.
“I have already played at McDiarmid Park when I was 15 or 16 in the Victory Shield. We came up here with Wales and played against Scotland, I have good memories here. Tyler Roberts, Ben Woodburn, Ethan Ampadu all played in that side.
“First impressions so far are really good, training was intense. We were preparing for the game, so it wasn’t too much, but the lads have been really welcoming.
“Last season I didn’t play as much as I wanted to at club level. My focus now is to get in the team and get playing every week and I can build it from there.”
St Johnstone start their Scottish Premiership season at home to Hearts later today (05/08).
