TT TRANSFER SPECULATION
Dom Roman – @DomRoman
The latest chat from Gary Johnson hints at four new signings arriving for pre-season training on Monday, I look at some more names that could be on that list..,or the list after that!
Sam Ashford – Crawley Town
Sam Ashford was originally at Tottenham Hotspur’s academy as a youngster, before spending a number of years bouncing around the non-league circles until a decent season for Hemel alerted Crawley Town, who signed him in on a two year contract in the summer of 2020. With opportunities becoming limited at Crawley Town, Sam spent a loan spell with Woking at the end of last season, scoring four goals in a struggling National League team. Ashford is a versatile player who can play both upfront and on the wing, something which could sway Gary Johnson to make him one of our signings this summer.
TT PROFILE
Position: Forward
Date of Birth: 21st December 1995 – 25 years-old
Height: 1.85m
Previous Clubs: Maldon/Tiptree, Heybridge Swifts, Stansted, Witham Town, Brightlingsea, East Thurrock, Concord Rangers, Hemel, Woking
League Stats 20-21: League Two: Played 8, Goals 0, Bookings 0
National League: Played 14, Goals 4, Bookings 1
Nicky Maynard – Unattached
The talk has been of one statement signing from Gary Johnson this summer, and the name of Nicky Maynard has certainly been mentioned plenty of times. Maynard’s CV speaks for itself really, with Championship spells at the likes of Bristol City, West Ham and Cardiff illustrating what a good player he has been over the years, accumulating an impressive 142 goals in 471 games. Whether there is any truth in the rumour is debatable, with Gary Johnson likely to play Danny Wright on his own upfront again, would Nicky be happy with a place on the bench and can we afford his wages? I doubt it, but Maynard’s cleverness and quality would definitely still cause National League defenders problems if it did happen.
TT PROFILE
Position: Forward
Date of Birth: 11th December 1986 – 34 years-old
Height: 1.80m
Previous Clubs: Crewe, Witton, Bristol City, West Ham, Cardiff, Wigan, MK Dons, Aberdeen, Bury, Mansfield, Newport County
League Stats 20-21: LEAGUE – Played 36, Goals 5, Bookings 2
PLAY-OFFS – Played 3, Goals 1, Bookings 0
Benji Mbunga Kimpioka – Sunderland
At the other end of the spectrum from Maynard is Benji Kimpioka. Unfortunately if you mention Benji’s name to any Gulls fan it will propel them back to the last minute miss versus Bromley at Plainmoor. However, it would be unfair to write the young striker off after his short loan at United. He showed in glimpses a real appetite for a battle, and also has pace to frighten defenders. If Gary Johnson gets another chance to work with the Sunderland man, he could well improve all areas of Kimpioka’s game and make him an asset for us. With the Johnson family link-up likely to be used this summer, it would be no surprise if BMK returns for another go.
TT PROFILE
Position: Forward
Date of Birth: 21st February 2000 – 21 years-old
Height: 1.83m
Previous Clubs: Torquay United
League Stats 20-21: LEAGUE – Played 8, Goals 0, Bookings 0
PLAY-OFFS – Played 2, Goals 0, Bookings 0
Tyrese Dyce – Sunderland
Speaking of Lee Johnson youngsters, Tyrese Dyce is a left back who has recently signed on for the club after being released by West Brom. Dyce played for Sunderland’s U23s at the end of last season and impressed the club enough to hand him a contract. With United in need of defensive reinforcements, Gary Johnson could certainly be interested in the 20 year-old – though with Dean Moxey likely to be our no.1 left back for 2021-22, Lee Johnson may be concerned at whether Tyrese will get enough game-time at Plainmoor.
TT PROFILE
Position: Left Back
Date of Birth: 19th April 2001 – 20 years-old
Height: 1.79m
Previous Clubs: West Brom
League Stats 20-21: None
Alex Fisher – Unattached
More clubs than Nick Faldo you say?! Alex Fisher is someone we of course know from his time at the club in 2015, and to be fair to the striker he did chip in a few goals in an incredibly strange time at the club. The target man striker has certainly travelled around during his career, but struggled to manage many minutes at Exeter City last season and was unsurprisingly released by Matt Taylor. As an additional option in the squad the 31 year-old journeyman may fit the bill, especially considering Danny Wright’s age and his need for rest breaks as the season progresses. We shall see.
TT PROFILE
Position: Forward
Date of Birth: 30th June 1990 – 31 years-old
Height: 1.90m
Previous Clubs: Oxford Utd, Brackley, Oxford City, Jerez, KVK Tienen, RC Mechelen, KSK Heist, Monza, Mansfield, Torquay, Inverness, Motherwell, Yeovil, Exeter City
League Stats 20-21: Played 18, Goals 2, Bookings 0
Harvey Wiles-Richards – Bristol City
Time for a goalie to finish. Richards recently signed a new two year contract at Ashton Gate, and is highly rated by City’s Player Pathway Manager Brian Tinnion, the youngster making the 1st team bench for one game last season. The previously lucrative United-City link-up may have broken down somewhat after Lee Johnson leaving, but with United needing two goalkeepers, a loan spell for Harvey in sunny Devon could be beneficial for both clubs.
TT PROFILE
Position: Goalkeeper
Date of Birth: 27th May 2002 – 19 years-old
Height: Unknown
Previous Clubs: Bath City
League Stats 20-21: None
COYY – Dom
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