Cowley boosts Braintree squad as six academy graduates get deals

[FF News]

Vanarama National League club Braintree Town have announced that six members of their Academy have signed first-team forms.

Manager Danny Cowley said: "Luke Mallet, Matt Baxter, Alfie Walker, Michael Folkes, Abu Soluku and James Makanjuola have all impressed during pre-season and deserve this opportunity. It is important for these boys to use this as a springboard to push on and continue to develop, physically, technically and tactically.

"Since we have come to the club we have been working very closely with the Academy. Long-term, for us to be able to develop young players capable of playing in the first team will be vital to our progress as a club. We already have some good young players at the club with the likes of Joe Maybanks and George Pullen. These two, are very much role models for our next group of young players and prove that there is a pathway from the Academy to the First Team if you are willing to work hard and are keen to learn and develop both as a player and a person.

"We look forward to seeing these boys and the rest of the Academy players` progress under both Mark Sansom and Ross McPherson over the coming months."

Cowley has also signed former West Ham midfielder Anthony Edgar and ex-Barnet keeper Chris Wood.

Edgar is a product of the West Ham United youth system and played twice for the club before joining Yeovil in July 2011.

He played a dozen times for the Glovers and then signed for Barnet in the summer of 2012 after a successful trial spell.

He was only at Yeovil for twelve months and left Underhill after scoring one goal in eleven league appearances, seven of them starts.

Barnet released the now 24-year-old after his contract was terminated by mutual consent in April 2013.

He eventually signed for Dagenham & Redbridge during the early part of the following season but after making only seven appearances for the Daggers – all off the bench – he was allowed to leave in January 2014.

He moved to Italy and signed for Serie D side Unione Triestina and then joined Bishop`s Stortford in March.

Wood is a young goalkeeper who signed for Evo-Stik League Southern Division One Central side Northwood on the eve of the season in August 2015, after being released by Barnet after playing for that club against Wood in a friendly.

He had previously had spells at Dagenham & Redbridge, Crawley Town and Gillingham.
 
Source: www.footballconference.co.uk

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