He’s had a think, he’s got sorted and Joe Powell signs new deal with Brewers
HE KNOWS PEOPLE WILL BE SURPRISED BUT HE’S HAPPY
JOE Powell is staying with Burton Albion – and cheerfully admits that some people will be surprised by the news.
The 23-year-old midfielder signed a new contract, understood to be for two years, yesterday.
Powell’s first two-and-a-half-year deal with the club, his first in senior football, expired at the end of last season.
The club offered him a new contract but, at the end of June, he was out of contract and it looked as if he would be playing football somewhere else in the coming season.
Asked about Powell recently, manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink stated that the new deal was still on the table and he hoped the player would sign it.
Now he has – and Powell, quite reasonably, says he was taking stock of his situation before making a decision.
Yes, he has looked at other offers, as well a player of his age and in his circumstances, with a decent reputation, might.
“The time I took was to appreciate myself and to appreciate some of the interest,” he said.
“I’ve had time away and working by myself. I had a few options come up and I felt I would be doing myself justice to assess them but, ultimately, I’m back and this was the best place to be for me. I’m here and ready to go again.
“I think the majority of fans will perhaps be quite surprised, considering the length of time it’s taken but you’ve got to expect that.
“I had some stuff going on at home as well, which is now hopefully getting sorted and it’s time to crack on.
“I know there are a few who did expect me to come back.
“I’ve seen the tweets. There were a couple of funny ones, I will say that, and they really made me chuckle. But we can laugh a bit more now because the fans can know I’m officially back! “I got the final call yesterday and there were smiles all the way up here. I’m excited to get started.” Powell says Hasselbaink’s keeness to keep him on board was a big factor in his decision – as was how he has been treated since arriving at the club in January, 2020. “A lot of what was going on was conversations between me and the gaffer and people on my behalf,” he said.
“And he was saying he really wanted me back, which was refreshing to hear. He managed to get me over the line and that’s very good for me.
“The club means a lot to me, as people will have heard me say in one of the post-match interviews I did at the end of the season.
“They brought me in, made me feel very welcome, and have done since.
I got the final call yesterday and there were smiles all the way up here. I’m excited to get started Joe Powell
“When you go to any club you want to aim as high as possible. Some people have very realistic dreams but I like to have very high ambitions – the sky’s the limit, you know.
“We’ve made some very good signings as well. I hope we can get higher up that league table.”
Powell, who is looking for a house in the area, within range of St George’s Park, arrives back a week and a half before the first League One game of the season away to Wycombe Wanderers and knows he has a bit of catching up to do.
“It’ll be a big game and it’s back towards home (in London) for me, so there will probably be a few people there that I know. I want to prove myself again,” he said.
“We have just over a week now until the season starts. I’ve been keeping myself ticking over as much as possible. Hopefully, now, I’ll just get that bit fitter and be ready for the start.”
Powell signed under Nigel Clough initially, coming from West Ham United’s under-23s in search of a first real go at men’s football, although he had a 10-match loan spell with Northampton Town in 2019.
Clough, Jake Buxton and Hasselbaink have all been impressed with Powell’s talent but all said they needed him to work a little harder and be more consistent. There were signs he was achieving that last season, with a long spell of starts in the second half of the campaign, although he will have expected a better return than four goals from 38 matches.
The previous season, he scored nine in 44 appearances, including the goal of the season, a ferocious low long-range shot away to Portsmouth.
He has consistently been the best deliverer of a set-piece in the team and, in the new season, will hope to be able to dictate games more from midfield.
Powell’s record so far for Burton is 92 appearances, with 16 goals.