Banbury United is pleased to announce the arrival of 27-year-old right back Dion Kelly-Evans to the Banbury Plant Hire Community Stadium ahead of Saturday’s home fixture versus Chorley Football Club.

Kelly-Evans’ footballing journey started when he joined his hometown team Coventry City. He soared through the ranks as a youngster, signing his first professional contract at the age of 19 at the end of the 2014/15 season. A handful of appearances on the bench saw him on the fringes of the first team during 2015/16, until he would eventually make his senior debut as a substitute coming on at half time in a 2-0 victory away at Oldham Athletic in the last game of the season.

The right-back broke through in the succeeding campaign, making 32 appearances in all competitions for the League One side, but the Sky Blues suffered relegation at the end of the season. The following season saw Kelly-Evans make seven appearances in all competitions during Coventry’s play-off winning campaign, one of which being a second half substitute in Coventry City’s EFL Trophy final win over Oxford United. This saw the Sky Blues win at Wembley in front of an enormous 74,434 crowd.

Despite this success, Dion’s first team action was limited, bringing an end to his time at his home club after a total of 40 appearances across all competitions in three professional seasons. Seeking regular first team action upon his release, Kelly-Evans dropped into non-league as he made the switch to Southern Premier Division Central side Kettering Town for the 2018/19 campaign.

In his solo campaign for the Poppies, Dion played 46 times as Kettering won the division, successively earning promotion to the National League North. Kelly-Evans’ fine performances meant he would rise one step higher, with recently relegated club Notts County securing the full back’s signature for their first ever season outside the Football League. He became a staple piece in the defence at Meadow Lane accumulating 85 appearances as the Magpies qualified for the play-offs in each of his three seasons at the club. Each attempt failure to secure a return to the Football League, with defeats to Harrogate Town, Torquay United and Grimsby Town respectively.

Dion’s next venture saw him join fellow National League side, Boreham Wood. But following a bright start to the 2022/23 season and having made eight appearances, he unfortunately suffered a long-term injury after breaking his collar bone on the 1st October at home to Maidstone United. This was to see him sit out the majority of the 2022/23 campaign. As a result of this, Dion was released at the beginning of this current season, which made him available for Banbury United to sign ahead of Saturday’s fixture versus Chorley FC.

Dion is a quick and versatile wide defender, who has had experience in the Football League and National League. He is a perfect option for Mark Jones who needed to quickly source a replacement to fill the void in the right back position after the devastating news of Jack Tompkins’ injury. Mark expressed “I’m delighted that Dion has agreed to join us. Dion is a very good player who brings fantastic experience with him, having played in the league for Coventry City and the National League with Notts County and Boreham Wood. He is an all action right back that will fit in with our style.”

WELCOME DION KELLY-EVANS
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