Swindon Town are delighted to announce that professional contracts have been accepted by three second-year scholars.
Anthony Cheshire, Massimo Giamattei and Toby Holland have progressed through the academy system after a successful season under the guidance of David Farrell and Alan McLoughlin in the under-18s and all have been rewarded with their first professional deal.
The trio were central to the success of the under-18 side who went unbeaten for over three months midway through the 2019/20 season before academy programmes were cut short due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Cheshire, a tough-tackling centre-half, has been with the academy since the age of 14. After making the step up from local football in his home town of Reading, he has climbed the age groups and impressed his coaches with his ability to move the ball out of his defence as well as his outstanding defensive capabilities.
The 18-year-old has been a part of rotated squads in the Wiltshire Premier Shield and Leasing.com Trophy this season and impressed in his appearances in the Wiltshire Premier Shield under the stewardship of Noel Hunt.
Fellow graduate, Massimo Giamattei (or Mass) also hails from Reading and joined the academy at a similar time, in 2016. Mass has been utilised in pretty much every position for the under-18s. He is a capable runner and talented technician but has been used mostly at wing-back for the under-18s in 2018/19. However, he has played across midfield and contributed hugely in attacking areas when appearing in the Premier Shield.
Toby Holland has impressed in the under-18s with his technical ability – the gifted attacking midfielder has been in consistently excellent form for the academy’s senior side this season and was rewarded with his first-team debut against Bristol Rovers in the Leasing.com Trophy in November 2019.
As a club, we would like to place on record our sincere gratitude and thanks to the departing second-year scholars who, alongside their parents, have worked tirelessly over the last ten years.
While their journey has come to an end with us, we would like to wish them all the best in their professional and personal progression in whatever steps they choose to take next.
