Blyth Spartans announce Panos Katsamagkas as fourth summer signing

The Greek forward has been training with the National League North club for the last month after spending time within the under-23s setup at Harrogate Town.

Katsamagkas impressed sufficiently to be offered a deal to remain at Croft Park on a permanent deal and he officially became Nelson’s fourth signing of the summer over the weekend.

He will now look to help Spartans move on from a challenging season and expressed his desire to repay the trust shown in him by his new manager.

“A big part of my decision to sign here was Michael Nelson,” he explained.

“From the first time we spoke, he explained to me the plan of the team going forward and showed me that I can trust him on and off the pitch.

“I can’t wait for the season to start and finally play some competitive football again after a long time.

“I would describe myself as a versatile player. I can do a lot of things on the pitch, like scoring goals and help the team build the game.

“I like to work hard defensively by putting pressure on the defenders and do everything to help the team win games.”

Nelson will hope that the addition of Katsamagkas will help solve the goalscoring issues that played a significant role in the club’s battle against relegation last season.

Spartans averaged under a goal a game in the National League North as they won just six of their 33 league games and had to rely on the FA’s decision to scrap relegation to avoid a return to the Northern Premier League.

Nelson revealed that he has high hopes for his new addition after being impressed with his attitude and ability during recent training sessions.

He said: “We’ve been short on goalscorers, not just at the moment but last season as well.

“Panos got recommended to us by somebody I used to play with, so we brought him into training, and we liked him as soon as we saw him in terms of his technical ability.

“It’s been hard to see players and their true potential when you haven’t been able to watch them play in games but as the guidelines have eased, we’ve been able to see more of him.

“We think he’ll be a good fit for us. His attitude has been excellent, he’s travelled up from Leeds each week and showed a real willingness and desire to improve and do well.”

Meanwhile, Northern League Division One club North Shields say they will host Spartans in a pre-season friendly on Wednesday, August 19.

The Robins have also revealed that the game will be held behind closed doors in line with the government’s guidance into the phased return of grassroots football.

Spartans are yet to confirm any friendlies as the club awaits further guidance regarding their 2020/21 National League campaign.