�鶹��

Mansfield Town have signed striker Will Evans on a two-year deal from Newport County.

The fee for the 27-year-old is undisclosed but is believed the be close to £200,000.

It is the first transfer fee Newport have received since 2018.

Evans netted 21 goals in League Two last season, despite the club finishing 18th in the division.

He joins a club who are back in the third tier for the first time since 2003, Mansfield having finished third in League Two behind Stockport County and Wrexham.

“I’m buzzing to be here," Evans told the club website.

"I can’t wait to start this new challenge. I’m over the moon to be here and will give my all for the club.”

Newport always expected interest in Evans this summer and triggered an extension to his contract at the end of last season.

County chairman Huw Jenkins said: “We are obviously disappointed to lose Will after such a good campaign last season.

“But he is in the last year of his contract and expressed a strong desire to test himself at a higher level. We discussed the situation with Will and his agent over the summer and we agreed that if a reasonable offer came in then we would both move forward with clarity.

“The club is still at a rebuilding stage after a difficult few years financially, so it was an offer we couldn’t turn down at this stage in our journey."

Newport last received a transfer fee when Tom Owen-Evans joined Falkirk in an undisclosed deal six years ago.

The club’s record sale is the £400,000 they received from Peterborough for Conor Washington in 2014, a sum which includes add-ons from his subsequent move to Queens Park Rangers.

Former Cardiff Met player Evans joined Newport from Cymru Premier League side Bala Town in May 2022.

“The club gave me an opportunity two years ago and I can easily say it’s been the best two years," said Evans.

"For now it’s time to say goodbye, to undertake a new challenge, one that I personally couldn’t turn down."

Evans backed up his impressive league tally last season by scoring in the 4-2 FA Cup defeat to eventual winners Manchester United, finishing with 25 goals in all competitions.

Evans is the second forward recruit in a week for Mansfield, after they completed a move for former Celtic academy teenager Ben Quinn.

"Will’s a striker who we’ve watched for the past 12 months and feel he will complement the team and the other forwards in the squad," said Stags boss Nigel Clough.

“He gives us something different and his goals return last season was excellent.”