Mickleover Swoop for Chettle

John McGrath, manager of Pitching In Southern League Premier Division Central newcomers Mickleover FC, has added midfielder Callum Chettle to his squad from near neighbours Basford United.

The 25-year-old joined Basford, who have also been switched over from the Northern Premier League, in May 2019 from Vanarama National League North side Alfreton Town, where he had been since July 2018 after arriving from Peterborough United.

He came through the youth ranks at Nottingham Forest before joining Ilkeston FC in 2012, when he was just 15 - becoming Ilkeston’s youngest ever player at just 16.

A move to Nuneaton Borough followed in July 2015, making 25 appearances, scoring 2 goals.

A string of stand-out performances during his time with Nuneaton saw him soon made his step up into the Football League, joining Peterborough in January 2016 on a two-year deal.

First-team opportunities were limited during his time with Posh, making just 22 appearances across 2016-2018. However, in January 2018, he was loaned to AFC Fylde where he completed the remainder of the 2017/18 campaign.

The son of former Nottingham Forest defender Steve Chettle, he spent the latter part of the 2018/19 season on loan at Boston United and he has been capped at England C level.

Chettle told the club’s Peter Scherer: “I’m delighted to join Mickleover, the club is heading in the right direction and myself and the manager have spoken and agreed that it is the perfect move for me to keep progressing.

“The management team has a huge amount of experience and it’s something that will only help better myself during the course of next season. Can’t wait to get started and hopefully be right up there come the end of the season.”

Manager John McGrath added: “I am over delighted with the signing of Callum. He fits the mould of the dynamic midfielder we are looking for and he is also incredibly talented with the football.

“I had a very specific type of player in mind when doing my recruitment and Callum was top of that list. He has football league experience and having spoken to him at length over the last few weeks, he still harbours ambitions to again play as high as he can. I believe he has all the ability to be a Football League player once again and it’s our job at Mickleover to make sure we give him the platform to do so”.

Peter Scherer