National League side York City have announced the signing of Cardiff City centre-back Malachi Fagan-Walcott on a season-long loan, as per the club’s official website.
A move to the fifth tier, three tiers below Cardiff, comes as a bit of a surprise with the 22-year-old having featured in three of the Bluebirds’ six matches this season.
The London-born man spent his youth playing for the academy of Tottenham Hotspur and he made one brief appearance for Spurs in the Champions League during the 2019/2020 season.
Fagan-Walcott was given his first real chance in men’s football when he went to Dundee Football Club on loan in January 2021.
Unfortunately, this loan spell was curtailed due to an injury and the former England youth international made just two appearances in the Scottish Championship.
Following two more seasons playing for Spurs’ academy, Fagan-Walcott was released at the end of the 2022/2023 season.
He then signed for his current parent club, Cardiff, in the summer of 2023 and spent six more months playing youth football before going on loan to Dunfermline Athletic in the second half of last season.
The manager who signed Fagan-Walcott at Dunfermline, James McPake, was the same manager who signed him at Dundee three years before, and the athletic defender certainly repaid the faith shown in him.
The centre-back made 15 appearances and scored three goals for Dunfermline as he contributed heavily to a good run of form from February onwards which saw the Pars steer clear of relegation and secure a sixth-place finish in the second tier of Scottish football.
Erol Bulut’s Cardiff side have endured a tough start to the season as they currently sit in last place in the Championship with just one point from four league games.
During the summer transfer window, the Bluebirds signed three high-quality centre-backs in the form of William Fish, Jesper Daland and Calum Chambers meaning that the Welsh giants had six senior central defenders on their books.
Adam Hinshelwood’s big-spending York City have started the season well and currently sit in sixth place in the National League following a two-nil win over Dagenham and Redbridge at the weekend.
Despite them having a wealth of options in forward areas, the Minstermen have mainly been using full-backs who are capable of filling in at centre-back alongside the experienced Callum Howe at the heart of their defence so far this season.
Writer’s View
Fagan-Walcott is 22 years of age now and he desperately needs to play a full season of senior football in order to develop further. This may explain his decision to drop to the fifth tier despite having been involved in three Cardiff games throughout the opening weeks of the season.
The signing comes as yet another coup for York and Fagan-Walcott’s athleticism and aggression should work perfectly alongside the experienced head of Callum Howe to provide a solid defensive foundation from which Adam Hinshelwood’s side can play their attacking style of football.
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