Tom Bloxham was handed his Blackpool debut in Saturday afternoon’s 2-2 draw with Huddersfield Town.

The 21-year-old completed the move to Bloomfield Road for an undisclosed fee from Shrewsbury Town last week, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract with the club - with the deal also including an option for an additional 12 months.

With Kyle Joseph not involved in the game against the Terriers after a bid from Hull City was accepted by the Seasiders, Bloxham started up front alongside Ashley Fletcher.

The attacker enjoyed a number of bright moments throughout the match, and came close to scoring during the second half.

“I thought he had a really good debut,” Blackpool boss Steve Bruce said.

“For someone who’s only been with us three days, it’s hard to integrate him into the team, but he showed flashes of what he’s about, and in particular had a really strong first half and caused them all sorts of problems.

“He can play in the wide area and give you cover at centre forward so we’re delighted we’ve been able to get him.

“He’s played 30 times up front in his career. He had a smashing debut and showed glimpses of what he can do for us.”

Bloxham’s career so far

After spending the latter part of his youth career with Shrewsbury, Bloxham was handed his professional debut back in 2021.

In total, he made 126 outings during his time with the Shropshire outfit, scoring 11 times, as well as spending time on loan with Morecambe - whom he made 24 appearances for in League Two.

So far this season, he’s featured 22 times in the third tier, scoring four times for the Salop, including one against Blackpool on New Year’s Day.

A second debut

Bloxham followed Sammy Silvera through the doors at Bloomfield Road last, after the Australian international joined the Seasiders on loan from Middlesbrough for the remainder of the season.

The winger arrived at the Riverside Stadium back in 2023 on the back of winning the A-League with Central Coast Mariners.

Throughout his debut campaign in the Championship, the 24-year-old scored four goals in 37 games.

Back in the summer he was loaned out to Portsmouth, but things at Fratton Park did not work out as planned, with Silvera only featuring 12 times in all competitions.

Like Bloxham, the Kangaroos attacker was handed his first appearance in Tangerine on Saturday, coming off the bench for Fletcher during the second half.