Oldham Athletic Confirm Arrival of Prolific National League Forward
Latics announce signing of Solihull Moors attacker
Newly-promoted Oldham Athletic have made another addition in attack with the signing of Solihull Moors forward Jack Stevens, as they return to League Two for the first time in three years.
The Latics have brought in the 24-year-old off the back of his 13-goal campaign in the fifth tier, coming in just 27 appearances.
The Welshman becomes the eighth signing for Micky Mellon’s side as they aim to protect their EFL status after last month’s National League play-off final victory over Southend United.
Oldham bolster attacking options with sharp signing
Stevens’ arrival at Boundary Park sees him join a stacked frontline that has already welcomed Kane Drummond, Luke Hannant, Josh Hawkes and Kieron Morris to an attack that also includes Mike Fondop, Joe Garner, Kian Harratt and Billy Waters.
The club are returning to League Two after their spell in non-league, in which they became the first, and so far only, side to fall from the Premier League to the National League, but have been on an upward trajectory since the appointment of Mellon in October 2023.
The signing of Stevens shows an intent to have attacking depth that not many fourth-tier teams can afford and gives them a better chance of staying up and being a dark horse for the play-off spots.
The former Oxford United youngster was the main man in Solihull’s attack last season and the move to Greater Manchester comes just three years after he was playing in the Southern Premier Division Central (7th tier) for Banbury United.
His 14 goals in all competitions in 2024/25 came after he netted 10 goals in his first full campaign for the Moors, showing his consistency in front of goal.
He finished as the joint-19th highest scorer in the fifth tier last year, but only five of the players ahead of him had a better minutes-per-goal rate than him, and he also bagged four assists, meaning he was involved in 0.67 goals per game.
Busy window for the Latics
Stevens’ move continues the flurry of activity in and out of Boundary Park, with 10 players having left so far in addition to the other seven incomings.
The attacking figures of Joe Nuttall, Alex Reid, Jesurun Uchegbulam, Otis Khan and Kurt Willoughby have all been upgraded after struggling for game time and former Walsall man Donervon Daniels has been brought in to fill part of the gap left by the departures of Charlie Raglan and Shaun Hobson.
Experienced men Dan Gardner and Mark Kitching, as well as youngster Kofi Moore, have also left but their replacements have already been confirmed with permanent deals for last season’s loanees Tom Pett and Jake Leake being completed.
However, there is no doubt that Mellon will still be looking for improvements to his squad and will be targeting a top-half finish next year.
Problems for Solihull and Matt Taylor
Losing Stevens will be a big issue for the Moors as they try to fix the errors of last season, which saw them finish 14th in the National League after losing out to Bromley in the play-off final the previous year.
Following his appointment in January, Taylor won just four of his 19 games in charge at Damson Park and received criticism from the fanbase.
Despite making six signings so far, they have lost the experience of the likes of Joss Labadie, Jordan Tunnicliffe, Tahvon Campbell and John Bostock, as well as Stevens, so the 2025/26 campaign may be another struggle for the West Midlands side.
Read more on;https://www.sportupdates.co.uk
Leave a Reply