Wigan Athletic have announced the signing of forward Dion Rankine from Chelsea on a three-year deal, pending Premier League, EFL, and FA approval.
The 21-year-old winger, who had a successful loan spell at Exeter City last season, becomes Shaun Maloney’s third signing of the summer.
Rankine, who began his career at Cambridge United before moving to Chelsea at age 14, impressed during his time at Exeter City, making 36 appearances and scoring his first senior goal against Reading.
“I’m so excited to be here,” Rankine said. “It’s the right step for my career. I feel like I’ve got a really good opportunity to progress and develop, and I just want to play the best football that I can here.”
Manager Shaun Maloney expressed his satisfaction with the signing: “Dion has all the attributes that we are looking for in a wide forward. He will bring speed and 1v1 ability to our attacking play, as well as having a brilliant mentality when we don’t have the ball.”
Meanwhile, Doncaster Rovers have secured the loan signing of goalkeeper Ted Sharman-Lowe from Chelsea for the upcoming season.
The 21-year-old, who started his career at Leicester City’s Academy before moving to Burton Albion, has been on Chelsea’s books since 2020. He gained experience on loan at Havant and Waterlooville and Bromley.
Rovers’ goalkeeping coach Kyle Letheren highlighted Sharman-Lowe’s strengths: “We identified Ted as one of our main targets and I’m delighted we’ve been able to bring him to the football club. He is very highly-rated at Chelsea and comes to us with some really strong recommendations. He’s a great size at 6ft4in and a really good shot stopper. I feel like we are a perfect fit for Ted and I’m excited to be working with another talented goalkeeper on a daily basis.”
Sharman-Lowe becomes Rovers’ sixth signing of the summer, joining Joe Sbarra, Jordan Gibson, Harry Clifton, Tom Nixon, and Ephraim Yeboah in bolstering the squad for the upcoming season.
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