Aldershot Town manager Tommy Widdrington has made his first foray into the transfer market, bringing in two players from the lower leagues.
Here are all the Aldershot Town summer signings so far;
The first two Aldershot Town summer signings have been 18-year-old attacking midfielder Haydon Vaughan who has joined from Bracknell Town and goalkeeper Pat Nash has been signed from Farnham Town.
Vaughan joins the club from Bracknell Town of the Southern Premier League South. Nash was an ever-present as Farnham Town went the whole league season unbeaten as they stormed to the Combined Counties Premier Division South title.
With Josh Stokes leaving the north Hampshire club to join Championship side Bristol City, it was important for Widdrington to bring in an attacking player with a keen eye for goal.
Haydon Vaughan looks to be that man. He scored a total of 26 goals last season and chipped in with 17 assists for Bracknell and Sandhurst Town, where he also spent time on loan.
“We of course hope he fulfils the undoubted potential he’s shown so far at both Sandhurst and Bracknell” Tommy Widdrington told the Official club website.
“He’s a local lad who has a great opportunity to kick on in an environment we feel is a good fit for him”.
Nash is expected to be understudy to Shots number one Jordi van Stappershoef, although a few of the fans may want him to step up and become the first choice.
The Dutch goalkeeper made a few costly mistakes over the course of last season but his manager has kept faith in him and offered him a new deal for the next campaign.
It is widely accepted amongst The Shots’ fanbase that if Widdrington’s team had a more solid defence then they would have reached the play-offs.
Aldershot had the third-worst defence in the National League last season, conceding 83 goals in 46 games and 20-year-old Nash could be the man who could help improve this poor record next season.
Of the 54 games that he played in last season, Nash kept 31 clean sheets. His former boss Paul Johnson was sorry to see him go but knew that the offer from a bigger club was too much to resist.
“Pat has huge talent and will go far in the game,” he told the Farnham Town’s website. “We look forward to following his progress at Aldershot where he hopefully gets the opportunity to shine”.
These two exciting prospects are the first in through the door after seven players were released from their contracts at the start of the month. Four players have also left after their loan deals came to an end.
