With the ever present lengthy injury list this season Guiseley AFC have fully utilised their Academy and today sees the eighth of Dave Currie’s young prospects sign first team forms and become available for today’s game against Boston United.

Seventeen year-old midfielder Aleks Starcenko, a Latvian-born player from the Baltic port of Liepaja, joined Guiseley Academy in August 2018 after previously playing for Frickley Under-19s and he has made excellent progress this season under Academy boss Currie as a goalscoring midfielder and has captained the side.

Starcenko follows Academy prospects Jake Young, Tabish Hussain, Fletcher Paley, Luke Hogg, Jack Lazenby, Nathan Newall and Kieron Ceesay in signing first team forms this season.

Young of course has moved on to sign for Sheffield United while goalkeeper Paley is on loan at Steeton.

Lazenby, went out on loan but has been injured for the last two months.

Hogg also made a temporary switch but returned to the club on Boxing Day.

Hussain, who quickly made his mark coming on from the bench a number of times for the first team is now back in action after a couple of months on the sidelines with a hairline fracture.

Meanwhile we can confirm both Louis Walsh and Jo Cummings now returned to their parent clubs, Barnsley and Charlton Athletic respectively.

The squad was a bit thin on the ground and managers Marcus Bignot and Russ O’Neill have been happy to recruit from the club’s Academy as well as play former Academy players Will Thornton and Scott Smith on a regular basis.