Mat Sadler’s Walsall have recently completed a move for Weymouth born striker Jonny Stuttle. Jonny joins the Saddlers on a season long loan from Bournemouth’s U21 squad where he has been since the age of 11.
Background And Development
Stuttle joined the Cherries at age 11 and had his first breakthrough season in the U16’s where he scored an astonishing 42 goals in 35 matches guiding and leading the U16’s to lifting the EFL Youth Alliance. He followed this up with a delightful season in the U18’s where he scored 20 goals and 5 assists. Among these goals he scored an impressive hat-trick in the FA Youth Cup at Newcastle’s St James Park.
Last season the 19-year-old enjoyed two loan spells in Hampshire, the first of which came at Aldershot Town, where he made 6 league appearances. He scored two goals in an FA Trophy match but was largely unused for his short spell. After the expiration of his loan Bournemouth made a smart decision to loan Stuttle out to the National League South outfit Farnborough FC (one level down from Aldershot) where he had a standout second half of the season netting a impressive 10 goals in nineteen games, and supporting with two assists, establishing himself as a top goal scorer for the club. He also ranked 24th in the league out of 1144 players in the National South last season.
Player Traits And Playing Style
Boro boss Spencer Day labelled the forward as “powerful, quick and old school”. He’s a hard-working number nine who impresses in physical battles; he possesses a quick burst of pace to unsteady defences and cause havoc in the penalty area. Stuttle himself depicts himself as a classic centre-forward who wants to win physical battles and score goals. Sadler echoed this valuing his robust and energy and valuing his potential.
Role And Expectations At Walsall
This season long loan aligns with the Saddlers recruitment strategy of young forwards such as Aaron Pressley hopefully boosting attacking options for Mat Sadler. Bournemouth academy coach James Lowy sees this as a “fantastic opportunity” for Stuttle to get regular minutes in the football league hopefully accelerating his growth.
How Does Jonny Stuttle Fit In The Squad?
With Nathan Lowe recently being recalled by stoke and previous loanees such as Danny Johnson not meeting expectations, Walsall have a lacked a consistent forward. Stuttle joins in high hopes that he can be the number nine the Sadlers have been searching for. His physical style and sharp finishing quality’s offer Walsall a different approach to the frontline. He will be likely deployed through the middle as part of a pairing.
Walsall fans should be excited to see this young phenom play and will be looking out for his consistency, goal scoring ability and his ability to stay fit.
Summary
Overall Jonny Stuttle joins Walsall full of promise as a proven non-league goal scorer combined with his directiveness, agility, strength he possesses, and an old school instinct needed to success in League Two. Walsall’s track record of nurturing young forwards makes the club a great fit for the 19-year-old. If he adapts quickly, he may just be the goal scoring centre forward Walsall have been searching for.
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