All the latest news from across the divisions
CURTIS TILT says his rise up the Pyramid has been so quick even he only thought he had a shot at the EFL recently.
The 25-year-old is off to League One Blackpool after just one season in full-time football.
Tilt finished last season on loan at promoted Forest Green Rovers from their National League rivals Wrexham, who he had joined last summer.
Just five years ago he was in the Midland Alliance with Gornal Athletic and has steadily climbed up the ranks via Tipton Town, Halesowen Town – where he won promotion to the Evo-Stik NPL Premier – Hednesford and Telford.
“I was at Pelsall Villa from aged 11 to 16, but I didn’t really have anyone to push me so I just finished really,” Tilt told The
NLP. “Then I played in the Asian Tournaments through a mate and the Gornal manager Ian Rowe saw me. I was just playing for enjoyment.
“So it’s all happened very quickly. Going fulltime was massive because instead of football being secondary to work, you concentrate on it every day. I didn’t really think about turning pro until my agent – Mustafa Mehmood and the former Aldershot striker John Grant a Talent scout at ISM – spoke to me about it.
“I’d had so many clubs contact me when I was at Telford that I thought, ‘well, I must be doing something right’.
“I signed a year’s contract at Wrexham and I felt if I’m going to play full-time football long term I had to put my all into it for one season.
“I trained as hard as I could, got in the gym, and took everything anyone said on board. I’m really looking forward to establishing myself with Blackpool.”
Grant and Mehmood, whose Inspire Sports Management helped QPR striker Matt Smith land his first big move from Solihull Moors to Oldham and Josh Gordon from Stafford to Leicester, said: “We feel there’s a lot more development left in Curtis, he’s nowhere near his ceiling and with Blackpool boss Gary Bowyer he will be in good hands to fulfil his massive potential.”