Accrington Stanley have secured the services of full-back Freddie Sass from King’s Lynn Town.
The Lancashire side finished in 21st place in League Two, eight points away from the relegation places. John Doolan’s side secured their safety with a strong final stretch of the season, with wins over Salford City and Walsall.
Stanley Replace Departing Player
Left-back has been a key area which Accrington needed to replace coming into the summer with their existing first-choice in Jake Batty, returning to his parent club Blackburn Rovers. Sass joins The ‘Owd Reds on a two-year deal, returning to the North West after a stint at National League North side Marine.
Manager John Doolan emphasised that this was a move to fill the void left behind by Batty, telling the club upon the announcement of Sass’s arrival:
“We needed our own left-back – Jake Batty was fantastic last season and we are still maybe looking to have back-up, someone competing for that spot or going ahead of Freddie, but we need our own.”
“We have kept an eye on Freddie over the season, we have done our research – I have spoken to people about him, when he was at Southport, Marine, and other clubs he has been at.
“He has played a lot of football, a lot of men’s football – he is physical, he is aggressive and he has played full-time for King’s Lynn.
“He has got a good left foot and there are loads of things we can work with – Freddie has a desire, hunger and drive, similar to what we saw in Tyler Walton last season.”
Writers’ View
This is a move to reduce the club’s loan dependency and it is an interesting move to make. The 23-year-old has no experience at the Football League level, but as with Grimsby Town’s move for Reece Staunton earlier in the week, the National League North has some promising talents around. Sass may not be the first choice as John Doolan eluded to in his comments, but it seems like the 23-year-old will get some game time across the season. With Accrington shutting down their academy, this is the only way the club can sign younger players who might need some time to adapt to first-team football at this level.
