TRURO City made a double loan swoop ahead of last Saturday's Vanarama National League South away clash to Hampton & Richmond Borough, writes Gareth Davies.
Midfielder Ryan Kavanagh joins City until the end of the 2023-24 campaign from Championship outfit Cardiff City, while striker Ollie Bray links up with Paul Wotton’s side for a month from Aldershot Town.
Born in Wales, Kavanagh has been part of the Bluebirds’ academy set-up since he was seven and in recent years, has appeared in both Cardiff’s under-18 and under-21 sides.
After suffering a serious knee injury last year, he made a successful return to the Cardiff under-21 fold just before Christmas, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3-0 win over fierce rivals Swansea City.
“Ryan comes highly recommended by Darren Purse,” Wotton told trurocity.co.uk. “Pursey is someone I respect and recommend highly in the game.
“I have watched Ryan play a couple times and he brings energy, he gets around the pitch and he is box to box. He has quality on the ball and he is someone we are really looking forward to working with.
“We thank Cardiff for letting us have Ryan on loan until the end of the season.”
Twenty-year-old Bray shot to prominence playing for Willand Rovers in Southern League Division One South, plundering a double-figure goal return in 2022-23.
He continued that fine form at Silver Street into this term, finding the net four times and claiming six assists, before moving to the Recreation Ground.
Bray spent part of the past off season on trial with Manchester United’s under-23s and whilst an Aldershot player, he scored their consolation strike in a 4-1 FA Cup third round defeat at the hands of Championship side West Bromwich Albion last month.
“We’ve known about Ollie Bray for a long, long time,” Wotton added. “He was at Willand Rovers which isn’t a million miles away from us.
“We played Willand in pre-season and Ollie was a real handful on the night. He has gone to Aldershot and scored a goal in the FA Cup at West Brom.
“Tommy Widdrington (Aldershot Town manager) is someone I get on with really well and it was a bit of a punt on my behalf, phoning him and asking if Ollie was available.
“As it panned out, he is available for a month where we will have to play eight games and he will be a welcome addition.
“Alongside Tyler (Harvey), Rocky (Andrew Neal) and Dominic (Johnson-Fisher), Ollie gives us pace which is another striking option.”
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