York City signed three new players and made one loan signing a permanent one in a busy day at Bootham Crescent.
Manager Martin Gray talked a lot about bringing in fresh faces and on Tuesday (February 13) his words came to fruition.
These are the signings…
1. Marcus Williams
Experienced left-back Marcus Williams has joined City on loan until the end of the season from National League side Guiseley.
The 31-year-old player has made nearly 300 Football League appearances, with his longest spell coming at Scunthorpe United.
The Doncaster-born defender joined Guiseley at the start of the 2016-17 season after a spell in the Indian Super League with Kerala Blasters.
Williams made 43 appearances for the Lions last season, but this season has found playing time hard to come by, after falling out of favour under new Guiseley manager Paul Cox.
It hasn’t taken long for the defender to make his first appearance in a City shirt. He started in his natural left-back position, as City reserves beat Hartlepool United 5-2 at Bootham Crescent this afternoon (February 13).
| Club | Leagues | Appearances | Goals | Assists | Yellow Cards | Red Cards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scunthorpe | Championship, League One, League Two | 241 | 0 | 8 | 16 | 3 |
| Sheffield United | League One | 39 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| Guiseley | National League | 43 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Kerala Blasters | Indian Super League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Reading | Championship | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Peterborough | League One | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2. Vinny Steels
City have gone for youth as well as experience today, as teenage winger Vinny Steels joined the club from Darlington.
The 16-year-old has been a wanted man, with Premier League clubs reportedly interested in the youngster, after a string of stellar performances in the Darlington reserves this season.
Manager Martin Gray was keen to express his delight with the signing of the Hartlepool born player. He said:
I am delighted that Vinny has agreed to join us because he is a really talented young boy with a lot of potential.
A lot of top clubs have shown interest in him over the last six months, but he feels that his future is best served by joining York City.
3. Alex Kempster
He came, he scored a hat-trick, he signed up…
Triallist Alex Kempster landed a professional contract with York City this afternoon after hitting a hat-trick on his debut for the club’s reserves.
The Whitley Bay striker, 22, had trained with City for the first time just 24 hours before today’s Central League North game against Hartlepool United at Bootham Crescent.
But his performance in the 5-2 victory prompted the club to snap up his services immediately on a deal until the end of the season.
“I am absolutely buzzing and it’s all been a bit of a whirlwind,” he said. “I spoke to the Gaffer straight after the game and he has put his faith in me.”
Kempster has played over 200 games for Northern League part-timers Whitley Bay but has never previously played for a full-time club.
He will now be giving up his jobs as a PE teacher and barman to become a full-time professional with the Minstermen.
4. Connor Brown
After a shaky first game against Spennymoor, he has got better and better, and now York City have made Connor Brown’s loan spell from Guiseley a permanent one.
The 26-year-old right-back has made 4 appearances for City since joining on loan in January, with his best performance arguably coming in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Salford.
Sheffield-born Brown has a vast amount of Football League experience, having played nearly 100 times for Oldham Athletic and Carlisle United.
The defender’s deal will last until the end of the season, and he is expected to be a permanent fixture in City’s back line in the run-in of fixtures.