Striker Jamie Cook has returned to Crawley Town after manager Steve Evans made a last minute move to capture the player from under the noses of a number of Blue Square Bet Premier rivals and a Coca-Cola League Two club.
Cook, 30, left The Broadfield Stadium last August to join his boyhood team Oxford United after scoring an impressive thirty-three goals in seventy-eight appearances for the Red Devils.
Evans was obviously a delighted manager after the player signed his contract and completed his medical and said: ''Jamie Cook is a wonderful signing for us. I must admit I was gutted when we lost him last August to Oxford United but the lad had travelling issues then and secondly his boyhood club, who happened to be just 20 minutes from home came calling, so I guess it was to be expected. He was played out of position at Oxford, so unfortunately for them they did not see the real Jamie Cook.
“Cooky is such a talented lad, he is a proven natural goalscorer and can produce that bit of magic that is needed to win the big games we play at this level. The lad will be living a lot closer to us and as a minimum I needed this commitment from him. In return he gets a manager who not only loves working with him but gets the best out of him. I know that was a key factor in the lad's decision to join us in preference to a few others who were keen to sign him.
“The Conference National is now widely regarded as being at its strongest in its history and we intend to go into this season with plenty of firepower; we have four strikers now who can easily score sixty-five goals between them - that's more than two of the top five scored last season. During the next few days we intend to add yet another striker who will wear our number 9 shirt and complete us giving us the most powerful front line in the division.
“I must pay a special thanks to chairman Bruce Winfield, who has been fantastically supportive of me in our player recruitment tasks this summer.
Cook said: “I am delighted to be back at Crawley Town and to be playing for the manager again. There is no doubt I have played my best football under him and that was such a big factor in my decision to come back here. I am also pleased to be given the opportunity to score goals again in front of the Crawley faithful once again, who have a special place in my heart."
