Duff lands final signing as versatile Chapman, 19, arrives

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CHELTENHAM Town manager Michael Duff said he pushed hard to add former Lincoln City midfielder Ellis Chapman to his squad once he became available.

The versatile 19-year-old was Duff’s final signing of the transfer window, and started out in the academy at Lincoln before being signed by then Premier League champions Leicester City in 2016.

He returned to Sincil Bank a year later and has appeared for the Imps’ first team as well as a loan spell at National League club Chesterfield in 2018/19, making a total of 20 league starts and 10 substitute appearances so far.

“We weren’t looking at bringing anyone else in, but Ellis (Chapman) came up and we weren’t expecting him to be available,” said Duff.

“Once he did, we think he’s a very good player and I am sure he’ll prove that in time.

“He’s 19 years old and he’s played in League One, League Two and the Conference.

“There aren’t many lads at 19 who have played 30 senior games at those levels. He has a lot of attributes and we were surprised he was available and when he did become available, we pushed quite hard to get him.

“He can play in a number of positions, which is one of the reasons we brought him in.

“He can play centre midfield, he’s left footed, 6ft 3in, can play left wing, he can run.

“Centre midfield is probably his position, but he can play wing-back and he did well for Chesterfield at wing-back and he’s big enough to go into the back three as well.

“He’s a good footballer at a good age, with a good pedigree so we think he’ll add to what we’ve got.”

Chapman has not featured in the squad yet as he needs to build up his fitness.

“He’s quite a long way short. We’ll try to bring him up to speed and bring him into the group,” said Duff.

“He’s training every day, but he hasn’t played many games. He’s not been in at Lincoln, he’s been going around clubs and there is no rush because the group is strong.

“He’s fit so he could play, but we don’t want him breaking down. We want him up to speed with the rest of the group.

“Whenever that is, or however long that is, we’ll decide when he’s ready to be thrown in.”

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