Jonny Drury sat down with Walsall reporter George Bennett to discuss new signing Connor Barrett.
Barrett is the latest player to arrive at the club from non-league.
And with the Saddlers also linked with a non-league keeper - they discuss Walsall's plans and vision to pick up gems from outside of the EFL.
Barrett is the latest player to arrive at the club from non-league.
And with the Saddlers also linked with a non-league keeper - they discuss Walsall's plans and vision to pick up gems from outside of the EFL.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00George Walsall made an early move in the transfer window, right wing-back from AFC Fylde, comes
00:14in from non-league with quite a good reputation. What are your predictions and prospects that
00:21he will fight for a spot in Matt Sadler's XI this season?
00:27For me, looking like a pretty shrewd sign and obviously time will tell, but someone
00:32that has generated quite a lot of excitement as soon as his name was linked to Walsall
00:36from spectators of the National League. He's made some real steady progression. He was
00:43firstly in Leicester's academy, then dropped out of Burnley's academy and ended up at Kettering.
00:51Spent a season there, then was with Fylde where he won the National League North in
00:56his first season, played right wing-back and really thrived in that position. I spoke
01:01to his former manager, Adam Murray, who really enjoyed working under him and has backed him
01:07to be a success in League Two.
01:10Then last season he came into the National League in his debut campaign. It took a while
01:14for him to get going, but once he did, really impressed. A player who clearly thrives off
01:19going forward, 11 assists last season. It feels like probably the natural next step
01:26of progression for him, coming from the National League North, making his name there and doing
01:30well there. Then succeeding in the National League and now it's the EFL for him. Walsall
01:36have got a good recent track record when it comes to recruiting from non-league. We saw
01:42Harry Williams last season, coming from Alverchurch. He was only brought in initially to be a prospect
01:49for the future so Walsall could see what he was all about, but with injuries he was thrown
01:54in at the deep end and he definitely swung rather than sunk just before his injury cut
02:00an abrupt end to his season in the new year. Jamie Gellis is another one that Walsall can
02:04be excited about after a really strong spell at Tamworth. It's clearly an area which Walsall
02:11are looking to invest in when it comes to these hidden gems from non-league. We've seen
02:16it work so well for clubs like Peterborough over the years and hopefully Walsall have
02:21found themselves another one in Conor Barrett, but obviously right wing back was an area
02:26that needed investment with Conor Mills' departure.