Chelsea man features: 3 players who could follow Ethan Brierley to Exeter City after Marcus Flitcroft reveal | OneFootball

Exeter have plenty of work to do and with Marcus Flitcroft saying big clubs were offering us their players we've looked at 3 more who could arrive.

Five down, plenty more to go.

That's the transfer situation at Exeter City now Gary Caldwell has taken his first-team squad to 19 members, with Johnly Yfeko making his loan permanent, Luca Woodhouse joining after release from Wycombe Wanderers, Ryan Rydel and Ethan Brierley joining on season-long loans, and the signing of striker Jayden Wareham from Reading on Thursday.

If Caldwell's tenure at St James Park to date is anything to go by, then we can expect Exeter's squad to be bolstered with a few more loan players for the 2025/26 season.

With City having one of the lowest budgets in the third tier, it's a necessity that younger, largely untried, players from bigger clubs' academies arrive to get some experience and hopefully help the Grecians pick up some points along the way.

By and large, the loans have gone quite well with a few shining lights like Viljami Sinisalo, Tristan Crama and Joe Whitworth all massively boosting their reputations following spells in Devon's Capital.

And, with Technical Director Marcus Flitcroft saying recently that some of the biggest clubs in the land are actively trying to send City their youngsters, Caldwell should have a good number of players to choose from this summer.

"At the moment, we've got a great reputation for, not only developing our players, but developing other players as well," Flitcroft told the club's media team.

"That spreads, that's publicised. When I go on courses people mention it. That's really important in influencing players, agents and clubs.

"We've got great connections at multiple clubs which really helps but the biggest connection that we have is that we've taken players from clubs and they've gone back better players.

"It means clubs like [Aston] Villa, Chelsea, Fulham and Brentford, they're calling us saying, 'who's next?' They want to send players to us because of that reputation."

So with City's latest deal with Brentford in the bag following the arrival of Brierley, and their transfer guru listing three more Premier League sides who are open to having their hot talents at St James Park for the upcoming season, we've taken a look at a trio of players who could fit the bill in positions that need filling at Exeter.

Alex Borto

Fulham

Young Fulham keeper Alexander Borto is approaching crunch time in his career. The American-born gloveman signed a long-term deal with the Cottagers in 2022 and, now 21, has barely played a proper men's game in his career.

He did ship seven against that exceptional Birmingham City side in a young Fulham XI in the EFL Trophy last season but bounced back to help the Cottagers to a 2-1 win over Shrewsbury Town. Highly rated at Craven Cottage and his sharp shot-stopping is often praised.

He appears to have lots of attributes similar to last season's loanee keeper Joe Whitworth, though he would surely not be as good with his feet. However, he has a clear height advantage over the diminutive Crystal Palace man.

Kerr Smith

Aston Villa

It will take some effort to find someone as good as Tristan Crama to come into the heart of City's defence, but Aston Villa's Kerr Smith could be a good option as a back-up to City's current crop of centre backs. The 6'1" Scot might be tempted to link up with former Tartan Army international and current City boss Caldwell and learn a thing or two about the art of defending.

Smith has had a loan spell since moving south of the border to join Villa, playing four games for St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership in the 2023/24 season. Now, with 12 months' development under his belt at Villa Park, the time might be right for him to go out and get some more regular games at a good level.

Jimmy-Jay Morgan

Chelsea

Dorset-born Jimmy-Jay Morgan scored eight goals in 11 PL2 appearances for Chelsea last season before heading to Gillingham on loan for the second half of the campaign. He managed just two goals in 16 appearances for the Gills but struggled for regular game time.

He can play up front or in the 10 role, so he would offer some versatility, but it seems like Josh Magennis and Wareham will battle it out for a starting berth up top for City this coming season. The nippy Morgan would offer a different profile to both and we all know how much Caldwell loves an on-loan No.10.