Slough Town 'proud' after Slavi Spasov completes move to Southend United

Photo credit: George Beck

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Striker Slavi Spasov completed his move from Slough Town to Southend United last week (Friday), with the Rebels hailing it as a significant milestone for the player and the club.

There will be an element of disappointment among the fan base that last season’s top scorer has moved on for pastures new, however, Slough put out a statement last week saying how ‘proud’ they were of this ‘milestone move’.

Spasov scored 13 league goals for the Rebels last season as they finished a challenging campaign in 16th place.

It seemed likely Spasov would depart the club this summer, with several suitors vying for his signature, however, the Shrimpers have managed to do a deal with the player and the club, with Slough receiving a fee for Slavi’s ‘training compensation’.

The statement released last week said: “We are proud that Slavi Spasov has completed his move to Southend United. This marks an important milestone not only for Slavi but also for the club, as we celebrate the hard work and dedication shown by both the player and our coaching staff throughout his journey.

“Since A23 Football Group took ownership in 2023, nurturing and developing talent has been at the heart of our philosophy. Slavi becomes the ninth player to progress into the professional game during that time — a record we are extremely proud of. We extend our congratulations to Slavi and wish him every success in the next phase of his career.

“We are pleased to have agreed a fee for Slavi’s training compensation. Due to the nature of his contract and the requirement for compensation to be agreed between the two clubs, we felt it was inappropriate to make any announcement while negotiations were ongoing — and we apologise to our supporters for our silence on this matter.”

Slough’s players have been back in pre-season training this week and will play their first friendly fixture of the summer against Virginia Water at Arbour Park on Friday evening (7.45pm kick-off).

They will play nine friendly matches in total before the start of the new National League South season on Saturday, August 9.

Their friendly schedule includes a warm-up match against Southend United at Arbour Park on Tuesday, July 29 (7.45pm kick-off). This match was arranged as part of the transfer which took Leon Parilon to Roots Hall last season.

The Rebels management team have now started the process of trying to mould and gel together their new look side. They’ve lost several of last season’s key players - including Spasov, David Ogbonna and Dan Bayliss - however, manager Scott Davies believes they’ve replaced them with quality and players who have real pace, power and physicality. So far, they’ve made 10 new additions. They are Kiki Oshilaja, Adam Desbois, Tyrese Dyce, Jordan Greenidge, Reiss Greenidge, Tyrique Clarke, Wiktor Makowski, Jaiden Drakes-Thomas, Peter Ojemen and Tarik Gidaree.