FORWARD ASHLEY CLARKE JOINS ON LOAN FROM THE CHERRIES

AFC BOURNEMOUTH UNDER-18s forward Ashley Clarke has joined AFC Totton on loan, ahead of Thursday’s Southern League transfer deadline.

Born on the Isle of Wight in September 2005, the direct attacker, who can play on either wing or as a central striker, played grassroots football in Portsmouth before joining The Cherries in July 2021 and going on to earn a scholarship in April 2022.

The name Ashley Clarke has been no stranger to the scoresheet this season, with the young forward racking up 14 goals and providing four assists by mid-January, during AFC Bournemouth U18s’ maiden Category Two season. Amongst that total were both goals in the 2-0 FA Youth Cup Fourth Round win against West Bromwich Albion, and the opening goal in an impressive 5-0 victory over Newcastle United on the hallowed turf of St. James’ Park in the subsequent round.

Clarke has also featured for The Cherries’ U21 Development Squad this season, bagging the first goal in the 5-1 win over their Wolverhampton Wanderers counterparts in a Premier League Cup match at Eastleigh’s Silverlake Stadium in January. He was not involved in the Servio Hampshire Senior Cup Semi-Final squad that lost 1-3 to AFC Totton at the Snows Stadium earlier this month, when goals from Joan Luque, Scott Rendell and Luke Hallett won the day for The Stags.

AFC Totton boss Jimmy Ball said:

“Ashley Clarke is an exciting young player, who we’ve brought in to bolster our attacking options during the run-in. His arrival is a win-win situation by providing that extra strength in depth that we need going into the crunch part of the season while also allowing us to help AFC Bournemouth to develop the player by giving him exposure to senior level men’s football. I’m looking forward to working with him and seeing what he can deliver out there on the pitch.”

The deal represents the fourth loan signing from the Vitality Stadium club in the space of a year, following goalkeeper Mack Allan’s arrival late last season, and midfielders Ben Winterburn and Lewis Brown’s loan spells in the first half of 2023/24.

Ashley Clarke is sponsored by the AFC Totton Development Programme

by Ben Rochey-Adams