Jonte joins Eastbourne on loan
Crawley Town striker Jonte Smith hopes to rediscover his goal scoring form during a loan spell with Eastbourne Borough.The teenaged striker has been loaned out to the Conference South side for a month by his parent club.It is the second time this season that Smith has been sent on loan.Earlier this campaign he enjoyed a prolific loan spell at Ryman Premier League side Metropolitan Police where he banged in 24 goals, including two hat-tricks, in 19 appearances.Smith made his League One debut with the Red Devils last December following his fruitful spell with Met Police but has yet to lock down a place Richie Barker’s team.“I had a good loan spell at Met Police and been in and out of the Crawley team so hopefully I can rediscover the form that I had and keep doing well progressing with my football,” he told The Royal Gazette.The former North Village youth player is determined to make the most of his time with The Sports who are currently 18th in the 22-team Conference South League which is above the Ryman Premier League.“It’s definitely a step up and I’ve felt my football progressing over the months and hopefully I’ll be able to do really well for my new loan team,” Smith said. “It’s all about continuing my development and working on becoming a complete player and I just want to continue where I left off.”Red Devils boss Barker believes that Smith’s playing spell with Eastbourne will do wonders for his development.“Jonte needs games and Eastbourne have a busy schedule coming up,” he commented on his club’s website. “It is a step up from the Ryman League, when he was with Met Police, and is good for his ongoing development. We will monitor his progress closely.”Smith said travelling to Eastbourne’s home venue at Langney Sports Club from his present location in West Sussex, England will not be an inconvenience.“The club is not too far and when they (Crawley) were deciding what club would be best to send me to they looked for one pretty close to the area,” he said.The 18-year-old footballer is due to train with his new club for the first time tomorrow ahead of Saturday’s away league clash with Tonbridge Angels.Smith signed a one-year contract with Crawley nearly a year ago after hitting 20 goals playing with the club’s academy and reserve teams.