Mousehole have added versatile defender Josh Baxter to their Western League squad.

The 20-year-old, previously on the books of Dorchester Town and Torquay United, joins from Bude Town where he has been a prominent member of their successful season after promotion to the South West Peninsula League, as they currently stand neck-and-neck with Wendron United at the top of the table with only two defeats in 14 games. 

Mousehole are currently undefeated in their last ten games, despite a series of long-term injuries in key positions, so the newcomer will be a welcome addition to the squad, with his ability to play at centre-back, right-back and wing-back.  Notably, he’s also scored five goals for Bude Town this season.

The Exeter-born defender has the opportunity to reinforce Mousehole’s defensive line-up following the semi-retirement of Billy Curtis, who played a total of nearly 300 matches over seven continuous seasons for Mousehole, including as captain.

Manager Jake Ash has no doubt that Josh Baxter can rise to the challenge of moving up from Step 6 to Step 5:  “I’m really excited about getting Josh on board.  I’d had several very positive reports on him and had watched him on video a few times.  I have been to see him first-hand twice now, and both times he stood out as a player with huge potential.  Physically he is outstanding, and he’s already proven in training this week that he is technically very able too.  He is another player who wants to come here to develop; he still has lots he can improve, and it’s great that he thinks he can do that with us. With Mark Richards out for a while, and Josh Otto having missed the last six weeks, it’s a really important signing for us as he can play anywhere along the back line and further up the pitch too. ” The new signing is available for selection for Saturday’s important trip to close rivals Barnstaple Town, who stand one place and three points below fifth place Mousehole with two games in hand.