Peterborough United full-back Aaron Powell has signed a two-year professional contract after catching the eye in a 45-minute cameo appearance against Bedford on Saturday.
The 18-year-old was an influential member of the youth side that won back-to-back EFL Youth Alliance South East division title, and is expected to feature in another pre-season friendly against Stamford on Tuesday night.
“Aaron kicked on in the second half of the season last term and his challenge now is to find some consistency,” Manager Darren Ferguson told the club website.
“On his day, he is very good. He has an excellent left foot, good balance, can play left-back or left wing-back and I think that everyone at Bedford would have agreed that his performance was very good. If he can keep to that level on a consistent basis, then we will see real improvement.
“He is another that falls into the Under-23 category. He will be with us in the first-team group and the Under-23s and we look forward to seeing him develop. He deserves his opportunity. He needs to kick on now and we need to try and get the best out of him because there is definitely potential in there.”
Powell added: “I am buzzing. I have been here since the Under-15s, managed to earn a scholarship and now I have got a professional contract and I am delighted. I have really enjoyed my journey so far. The coaches have really helped me with my development and it has been great that we have been successful as a team.
“It was a bit of a stressful time last season because I got injured around the time that decisions were being made, so it was brilliant that the club allowed me time to get back fit and then have given me this deal. It is up to me now to repay that faith that has been shown in me and I will work as hard as I can to show what I can do.”
