Hot on the heels of Saturday’s double swoop for Chris Moore and Dan Hawkins came another two signings for Blyth Spartans. Team Northumbria midfielder Ben Sayer and Whitley Bay winger Jarrett Rivers have both joined and the youngsters have already started looking ahead to the challenge of stepping up to the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League.
Former Newcastle United academy product Sayer was released by the Magpies in 2012 and spent two seasons with Team Northumbria. He was called up to the England ‘C’ representative squad in March alongside seven of his future Spartans team mates but didn’t feature in the game with a Northern League XI due to an injury.
After signing for Spartans the twenty year old midfielder revealed that playing in front of the Green Army was one of the main reasons he joined the club. “Obviously it’s a big test stepping up to a more serious level and the chance to play in front of a bigger fanbase at a bigger club was a major factor in signing. You look at the squad and a lot of them are around my age so that will make it easier to settle in, I can’t wait for the challenges ahead”
Rivers – who is primarily a winger but can operate as a forward – also spent time at a North East academy at Middlesbrough and after being released by Boro he joined Whitley Bay at the start of last season. After scoring on his debut against Dunston UTS Rivers went on to score six goals in thirty eight games for the Hillheads club and he admitted that a current Spartans player had a part in him joining the club.
“When the season finished Ian Watson contacted me and asked if I would be interested in coming to Spartans. I spoke to Tom Wade and once I had done that and saw the setup here I realised it was too good a chance to turn down, I’m looking forward to testing myself at this level”
After completing the signings of the duo Wade enthused about what they will bring to the club. “Ben and Jarret are two up and coming players and have both had time at professional academies. Their time in the Northern League will have served them well and they fit in with what we are looking for at Blyth Spartans. They are both very comfortable on the ball and have the quality we want from our players, they are a massive boost to the squad”
The Spartans manager also pointed to last season’s progression at the club as a reason why he felt the youngsters would settle at the club. “I think we showed last season that we can develop our younger players and they can go on to be key players. Obviously everyone knows we signed a lot of young lads last year but they did very well and achieved a lot with the club and got recognition externally as well with things like the Evo-Stik League Team of the Month award and the England ‘C’ representative call ups. We look forward to seeing what Ben and Jarret can achieve too”
Full interviews with Ben and Jarret will be available on Spartans official YouTube channel BSAFCTV when the players return for pre-season in late June.