Ashley Eastham departs Fleetwood Town on deadline day as Everton youngster makes Highbury loan move

Heading out of Fleetwood Town was defender Ashley Eastham, who stepped down into League Two and joined Salford City.

The 28-year-old departed Highbury after 161 appearances over two spells with the club.

The first was in 2012 when he joined the club on loan from Blackpool, having had similar moves to Carlisle United, Cheltenham Town and Bury.

He joined Rochdale in 2013, spending three years there before moving to Town in 2016.

Eastham’s move to Salford will see him reunited with former Town team-mates Chris Neal, Nathan Pond and Ash Hunter.

Offsetting Eastham’s exit was the loan signing of Everton’s Lewis Gibson until the end of the season.

The 19-year-old former Newcastle United youngster moved to Goodison Park in 2017, since when he has skippered the Toffees’ U23 side and helped them to a Premier League 2 and Premier League Cup double.

He was also part of the England U17 squad, along with Town keeper Billy Crellin, which won the World Cup in 2017.

Head coach Joey Barton told Town’s website: “Lewis is a player that we have been tracking for a while and we are really pleased to see him join us until the end of the season.

“He’s left-footed, big, strong and will be a superb addition to our squad. We anticipate that he will make a real impact in our team from now until the end of the season.”