We are delighted to announce the signing of Kyle Wootton on a free transfer from Notts County, as the striker becomes our first addition of the Summer on a three-year-deal.
The much coveted 25-year-old joins County after a three-year spell at Meadow Lane in the National League, where he established himself as one of the leading centre-forwards in the division – scoring 59 goals in 134 appearances for the club.
Kyle originally joined Notts on loan from Scunthorpe United in the Summer of 2019 before making the move permanent six months later, and has finished as the Club’s top scorer in each of his three seasons there, hitting 22 goals in all competitions in 2021/22 as Ian Burchnall’s side missed out to Grimsby in the play-offs.
The big striker was also voted as Players’ Player of the Year in both of his first two seasons at the Club, further emphasising his importance to the team as he became a leader in what was a young dressing room, captaining the side on several occasions over the last few years.
In his time at the Club, Notts finished 3rd, 5th and 5th before suffering play-off heartache each time – losing in the final, semi-final and eliminator round respectively. Despite those near-misses, in that time Kyle’s goalscoring record has improved every year, with only Paddy Madden, Kabongo Tshimanga and Paul Mullin scoring more than his 19 National League goals last season.
Following the expiration of his contact this month Kyle has now signed a deal at Edgeley Park until 2025, returning to the Football League for the first time since leaving Scunthorpe, where he spent six seasons in the first-team after coming through the youth system at Glanford Park – playing alongside fellow striker Paddy Madden in the process.
Director of Football Simon Wilson said:
“We welcome Kyle to the club after several strong seasons of performance for Notts County – a club of stature and expectations where he showed year on year improvement and became an influential leader in what was a young dressing room.
“We feel he has a number of ideal qualities for the way we play, and having spent time with him is a humble and hard-working lad that will fit in well with our group.
“As a striker at 25 he is entering his peak and we look forward to his contribution over the next three seasons as we look to rise the divisions in EFL.”
Manager Dave Challinor said:
“I’m absolutely thrilled that Kyle has agreed to join us and be part of what we are trying to achieve at the club. His profile as a player and his age are perfect for us. We feel as a team that we will play to his strengths, he will get opportunities to score and his record shows he can finish; but also having spoken to him both he, and we, feel that he can improve and really grow with us.
“He’s been a long term target for us, so to get this one over the line is brilliant and will undoubtedly strengthen us and complement the strikers we already have at the club. I’m really excited to start working with him and I’m sure he will fit into our group seamlessly and become a favourite at Edgeley Park.”
