Stanley succeed in treble swoop
Trio arrive on transfer window deadline day
STANLEY were extremely busy on transfer deadline day, after bringing in Fulham defender Jerome Opoku, West Ham centreback Aji Alese and Preston striker Connor Simpson on loan.
Opoku arrives until January, with the 20-year-old able to play at either centre-back or left-back for the Reds. He has represented Fulham at U18 and U23 level, with him also serving as captain of the U23 side during some of the 2018/19 campaign.
Alese has also been a regular at youth level with his club, playing for West Ham’s U18 and U23 sides, while the 18-year-old has also been capped by his
country at various youth levels.
Simpson arrives from Preston as cover for Swansea loanee Courtney Baker-Richardson, who has been ruled out for two months with a groin injury.
“Jerome provides us with another option in defence and has had a good grounding at Fulham,” Stanley manager John Coleman told the club’s official website.
“We need a big squad to cover any injuries and suspensions we may pick up and Jerome will offer competition in the backline.
“Alese is a highly-rated prospect at West Ham and he’s been around the England squads. This is the chance for him to make the transition from junior football to senior football, we feel as though he has the attributes to make that step and leftsided centre-backs are quite rare so thats another plus and hopefully he can kickstart his senior career with us.
“Players do benefit from the experience of others here and I’ve had very good reports about his character as well.
“We have also lost two strikers at the blink of an eye which hasn’t been ideal. We need cover in that area and Connor has a lot of potential. This is a chance for him to resume his career again.”