Carlisle United have rewarded second-year apprentice Taylor Charters with his first professional contract, with the 17-year-old penning a two-year deal with the option to extend the deal further.
Charters joined the club at Under-9 level and has progressed to establishing himself as a key member of the youth team, chipping in with a number of impressive goals from midfield, including a stunning strike towards the end of last term that saw him nominated for LFE Goal of the Month in April.
The talented youngster has stepped up to first-team training this season and appeared in pre-season friendlies in July, with his performances encouraging manager Steven Pressley to tie up the teenager’s services.
“He’s what a lot of people are looking for in a modern-day midfielder,” Pressley told the club website. “He’s big and athletic, but he’s also quick and he’s got good technical ability. He’s also a player who runs and arrives in the box which means he’s capable of scoring goals from midfield.
“He’s a real athlete, and if we can put all those pieces of the jigsaw together I think we’ve got a very good midfielder. I want to see him firstly train to a standard where there’s never a question that he’ll be training with us.
“He simply can’t allow his standards to drop. He then needs to be pushing to be regularly involved in the matchday squads, and the next stage is of course to be playing in the team.
“That has to be his objective, and I would hope that if he continues to progress in the manner he is, we’ll see him in the first-team or on the bench on a regular basis.”
