Ex-Charlton defender makes League One move

Ex-Charlton defender Charlie Barker has signed with League One side Crawley Town from National League side Wealdstone.

The 21-year-old spent one season with Wealdstone, making 43 appearances in the fifth tier and scoring twice.

Barker made 11 senior appearances for the Addicks – scoring once in the EFL Cup first-round win over Swindon in September 2020 – before being released at the end of the 2022-23 season.

Crawley was promoted to League One after winning the League Two play-offs last season.

The Red Devils have made a blueprint in the transfer market of plucking players from the non-league system, with Welling’s Antony Papadopoulos also joining from the National League South.

Barker, who has signed a three-year deal at the Broadfield Stadium, said: “I am really happy to get the deal done, it has been spoken about for a couple of weeks now, so it is a great feeling to get it over the line. 

“My agent had some calls from a few clubs but as soon as I heard Crawley were interested I was excited and knew that I wanted to come here. 

“The club did unbelievably well last season, and I have a few connections with some of the boys here, who only had positive things to say.”