'Fantastic talent' - Crawley Town sign former Aston Villa, Hibernian and Swindon Town forward
Crawley Town have signed forward Harry McKirdy on a one-year contract.
The forward grew up in Stoke-on-Trent and spent much of his early years with the Stoke City Academy before moving to Aston Villa in his teenage years.
McKirdy worked his way up the age groups at Aston Villa, featuring for the U23 team before heading out for his first loan spell to Stevenage. The forward also spent half of the 2017/18 season at fellow League Two side Crewe Alexandra, picking up three goals in 16 appearances.
Following the two loan spells, the 28-year-old left Aston Villa on a permanent basis to join Carlisle United. A fruitful spell in Cumbria saw McKirdy move to Port Vale at the start of the 2020/21 season, before signing with Swindon Town the following year, where he linked up with Scott Lindsey for the first time.
It was at Swindon where the striker enjoyed his most successful spell in front of goal. He scored on his debut for the Robins, and he kept up that form, tallying 23 goals and contributing 10 assists in 44 games. His performances were recognised as he was named in the League Two Team of the Season and was awarded the Swindon Town Player of the Year at the end of the 2021/22 campaign.
More recently, McKirdy had a spell with Hibernian in the Scottish Premier League and spent the second half of the 2024/25 season with fellow League Two side Bromley FC.
Having signed the deal to become Crawley’s second summer signing, McKirdy said: “It’s really nice to be here, it feels good to link back up with Lindsey again, and hopefully I can help get the boys promoted back up to League One and be a part of it again. When I worked with Scott before, it was the best time that I had in football, and we had some good times together, so I am hoping that I can rekindle them.”
Manager Scott Lindsey added, “Harry is a fantastic talent, and is someone I have worked closely with before. The fans are going to love Harry; he’s a great character, and he will score and create goals. He’s a signing that we really wanted and worked hard to get, so we are pleased to get it over the line.”