Keith manager Craig Ewen is pleased to have recruited a player he feels has lots of potential in Joey Wilson.
The 20-year-old has signed a permanent contract with the Maroons until the summer of 2025, having been on loan at Kynoch Park from Formartine United since the start of the season.
Boss Ewen believes winger Wilson has a bright future in the Breedon Highland League and hopes he can establish himself with Keith.
He said: “We think Joey’s got stacks of potential. We can see in training that he’s got a lot of ability.
“We probably signed him on loan initially as a striker but with his ability he’s probably more of a winger.
“He looks to take players on and he’s happy going inside or outside.
“I think looking ahead Joey can be a handful for us and it’s a really positive signing, he’s got all his best years ahead of him and we’re delighted to sign him.
“We just need to see if we can get him a run of games in the team and hopefully he’ll kick on from there.
“It’s been a bit stop-start during his loan spell for various reasons.
“I think he was at a stage with Formartine where if he stayed there it was going to be increasingly difficult for him to get into their team.
“So I think it was the right time for him to move on and see if he can kick on with his career and see where it goes.”
Youth the way ahead
Ewen’s Keith squad is predominantly made up of young players.
And while that may lead to some inconsistency in performance the Kynoch Park gaffer is confident the Maroons have a bright future ahead.
On Saturday they welcome Forres Mechanics to Kynoch Park in the Highland League and Ewen added: “We’re similar to a few clubs in the Highland League right now.
“Apart from three or four players our squad is generally very young.
“The bulk of our squad is aged between 18 or 21. There can be inconsistency in performance, but hopefully with the more experience they get and playing together they’ll mature into really good players and Keith will benefit.
“There’s certainly a few teams in the league at the moment having to go a bit younger.”
