ALEX HEAD TO THE PREMIER LEAGUE TO BOLSTER THEIR DEFENSIVE OPTIONS

CREWE Alex have completed the signing of Southampton defender Kayne Ramsay on a season-long loan.

The 20-year-old right-back becomes Dave Artell’s second signing of the summer, joining striker Christopher Long from Motherwell. Ramsay, who joined Southampton from Chelsea in 2017, has made four appearances for the Saints’ first team, and also played five games on loan at Shrewsbury in the 2019/20 season.

The defender told the Alex website that the opportunity of first-team football and Crewe’s reputation for developing players made the move appealing.

He said: “I’m extremely happy (to have signed). I have wanted to do this for a while now and have been dying to get out and get minutes. I want to show everyone what I can do and hopefully I can come to Crewe and play 40-plus games and get cracking.

“I knew about Crewe’s interest two or three weeks ago and I knew it was the club for me. They have sold two full-backs to the Championship last season and, as a right-back myself, I thought it would help my development and Southampton said the same. “The manager seems a great guy. He is down to earth and will tell you the truth and that is what I need. When we met, he just told me that he wants me to run, get forward when I can and get behind my man.

“We spoke about getting the better of my man one way but not letting him get the better of me the other way, defensively.

“I could have gone to the Championship and gambled a bit on that but I may not have played as much at times. This league and this club is perfect for me, and I am 100 per cent focussed on playing games and helping the team.” Ramsay signed a new deal with Southampton in February to keep him at the club until 2023. Meanwhile, Crewe midfielder Regan Griffiths says he has returned to the club a better player after signing a new two-year deal. The 21-year-old finished last season on loan with Notts County and says playing first-team football in the National League was a steep learning curve.

Griffiths, who moved on loan in

April, started six games and made a further six sub appearances for County as they reached the National League play-offs but lost in the semi-finals to Torquay. He told the club: “I was only there for two-and-a-half or three months, but there were some good times, and then some not so good when I wasn’t playing. It was all learning for when I come back. If I ever get dropped I know how to deal with it better, so it was a good learning experience.”

He added: “This might sound bad but I was quite shocked by how good that league was. I went in against Wrexham and had only been there for three days. I said to a few of the lads that it caught me by surprise how quick the game was. It was hectic, it was a real game and that has helped me to come back here this year and try to get in the team and do well.” Griffiths, who has been with the Alex since he was nine, made his first Crewe appearances last season when he started the Papa John’s Trophy games against Shrewsbury and Hull and also came off the bench for the League One matches at Portsmouth and Gillingham.

The Liverpudlian added: “I have loved it here. I always wanted to further my development and hopefully get in the team this year. “I wanted to focus on the loan as do as well as I could there before sorting everything out.

“So, now that is finished, I think it’s right to get it done and get signed.”