Fleetwood Town swoop for new left back

Fleetwood Town have made highly-rated young full-back  Eddie Clarke from Tranmere Rovers their first signing of the summer.
Eddie ClarkeEddie Clarke
Eddie Clarke

Fleetwood Town have made highly-rated young full-back Eddie Clarke from Tranmere Rovers their first signing of the summer.Town have snapped up the 19-year-old on a free transfer in a bid to solve their problematic left-back issue.Clarke arrives on a long-term deal from the newly-promoted Football League club, though the length of his contract has not been confirmed.The youngster made 14 National League appearances for Rovers last season and played almost the whole match in the play-off final win over Boreham Wood at Wembley.Fleetwood have struggled to fill the hole at left-back since Amari’i Bell departed for Blackburn Rovers in January.Fleetwood signed versatile full-back Gethin Jones on a permanent deal from Everton and dipped into the loan market for Preston’s left-footed defender Kevin O’Connor.Youngster Joe Maguire and striker Ash Hunter were also utilised at left wing-back as both Uwe Rosler and his successor John Sheridan tried to find a replacement for Bell.Clarke will be at new head coach Joey Barton’s disposal and will compete with Jones and Maguire for the role.Clarke said: I am really happy to be here and I can’t wait to get going at such a great club like Fleetwood Town.“I am a left-back who likes to get forward. I think my pace is a key attribute along with being agile, and I’m hoping to bring that to the team.“I can see myself growing as a player and as a person here and I can’t wait to meet the lads ahead of the new season.”