Cheltenham Town Sign Winger Jake Evans on Loan

Cheltenham Town have moved to sharpen their attacking edge with the season-long loan signing of highly rated winger Jake Evans from Leicester City.

The 17-year-old arrives with something many in his age bracket are still chasing: real minutes in senior football. He featured 16 times in League One for Northampton Town last season, a grounding that has clearly whetted his appetite.

"I'm over the moon to be here," Evans told the club’s website. "I have had a taste of senior football, and I just want more. I can't wait to play for the Gaffer and the Robins fans."

That hunger is exactly what Steve Cotterill has been tracking all summer.

The Cheltenham boss has had Evans high on his list for weeks, and he made no secret of how competitive the chase became.

"Jake has been one of my targets throughout the summer," Cotterill said. "There was a lot of interest in Jake from League Two and higher up the pyramid."

That line matters. When a teenager draws attention from clubs above Cheltenham’s level and still chooses the Robins, it says plenty about the role on offer and the trust being placed in him.

Cotterill, though, was keen to keep the excitement anchored in reality.

"As well as being an exciting player, it is also worth remembering that he is a young man learning his trade in the men's game."

So Cheltenham get an attacking livewire with League One experience, Leicester see one of their prospects tested again in senior football, and Evans himself steps into a dressing room expecting him to make a difference, not just make up the numbers.

Now it’s over to the teenager to turn promise and enthusiasm into end product on a League Two stage that will not wait for anyone.