Cheltenham Town sign former Crawley Town, Peterborough United, Ipswich Town and Shrewsbury Town forward Tyrone Barnett on loan from Port Vale.
Cheltenham Town have signed striker Tyrone Barnett on loan from League Two rivals Port Vale until January.
The 32-year-old joined Vale on a two year deal last summer, but he was transfer listed by boss Neil Aspin at the end of the 2017/18 season.
Barnett, who is 6ft 3in, started out as a youngster at West Bromwich Albion before spells at Rushall Olympic, AFC Telford United, Willenhall Town, Hednesford Town and Macclesfield Town.
He rose to prominence at Crawley Town, for whom he scored twice against Cheltenham in February 2012, just before leaving to join Peterborough United.
He had earlier scored the Crawley’s first ever Football League goal.
Barnett has since played for Ipswich Town, Bristol City, Oxford United and Southend United on loan and been on the books of Shrewsbury Town and AFC Wimbledon.
He underwent medical on Thursday morning and became Cheltenham’s third new recruit under caretaker boss Russell Milton, who has also brought in Sam Jones on loan from Shrewsbury and signed free agent Chris Clements.
Port Vale boss Darren Moore has pledged his future to the club following their relegation to League Two.Moore, who took over from Andy Crosby in February, has presided over a dismal run of form, picking up just two wins and a total of nine points from his sixteen games in charge.Vale were finally consigned to the bottom tier following Saturday’s 2-0 defeat away at Bolton Wanderers, but Moore spoke after the game about how the players were “hurting” and that he intended to be part of what he called “the big rebuild”.Speaking to BBC Radio Stoke straight after the match, Moore said: “The one consistent that’s been really good at the football club has been the emergence of young players.
“When you look at Planty (James Plant), Rhys (Walters), Jack (Shorrock), and Baylee (Dipepa), they’re the one consistent over the course of the season – they’ve been the one bright hope really, and they can feel they’ve accounted themselves well.”
While Walters (18) started the game, and Shorrock (16) and Dipepa (17) finished the game, supporters will hope that Moore plays the youngsters in the final game of the season at home to Cambridge United on Saturday.
It seems there is little point giving the supposed experienced campaigners a final run out when they could be moved out of the club in the following days when there are youngsters who have impressed when given the chance.
Indeed, Vale’s brightest moments this season have all come from younger players, including the loan signings of Ollie Arblaster from Sheffield United and Alfie Devine from Tottenham Hotspur, but if a rebuild is coming then Vale must sign experienced players on a permanent basis to supplement their young starlets, not sign more inexperience on loan.
