Crawley Town CEO Erdem Konyar lauds new pair

Midfielder Jack Payne and defender Harry Ransom will both join the Reds on July 1 ahead of the 2021-22 campaign.

Crawley announced last Wednesday that they will sign Payne on a one-year contract, with an additional one-year option, from Eastleigh in an undisclosed deal.

The 29-year-old enjoyed spells at clubs such as Gillingham, where he worked with Reds boss John Yems, Peterborough United and Blackpool.

Payne starred in Blackpool’s 2-1 League Two play-off final win over Exeter City in 2016-17.

Ransom, meanwhile, agreed to move to Crawley on Friday after his release from Millwall last month,

The ex-Lions under-23 captain joined from Eastbourne Borough in the summer of 2019.

He made his senior debut during the 2016-17 campaign and become Borough’s youngest-ever captain at 19.

The 21-year-old was loaned to Dover in October before his release from the Lions

Konyar said: “With Harry, you’ve got a young centre back who’s got a wealth of first team football.

“That’s a good indicator that he’s had match experience, and he’s an exciting prospect that can hopefully develop into a strong centre back in League Two.

“Payney brings a wealth of experience. He understands what it takes to go up the leagues, but more importantly he’ll keep us playing an attractive brand of football.

“He knows the gaffer very well so that’s another box ticked and that relationship answers a lot of questions before he’s come in the door.”

Along with the new duo, the Reds have retained six of last season’s squad, including FA Cup hero Nick Tsaroulla, 2020-21 League Two Team of the Year inductee Jordan Tunnicliffe and evergreen keeper Glenn Morris.

Konyar was pleased with how the squad was building but wanted to make sure Crawley were in a good place going into pre-season.

He added: “At the end of the day, when you look at the big picture I think it’s good to get the numbers in.

“We’ve got a lot of numbers in anyway. I think we have to make sure we’re happy going into pre-season.”