Ebbsfleet United sign defender Jack Wakely on season-long loan from League 1 Wycombe Wanderers

Ebbsfleet manager Dennis Kutrieb has made his first signing ahead of the new season.

The Fleet have signed centre-back Jack Wakely on a season-long loan from League 1 Wycombe.

The 22-year-old finished last season on loan at Maidenhead so is no stranger to National League football.

He made three League 1 appearances for Wycombe last season, coming on in the 89th minute on each occasion.

Having signed a new one-year deal with Wycombe, he has now been sent out on loan to aid his development.

The 6ft4in defender came through the ranks at Chelsea and had spells at Basingstoke, Brighton and Leicester.

Meanwhile, the Fleet have also announced the departure of popular midfielder Jack Paxman, who has agreed to terminate his contract which had 12 months left to run in order to take up a new deal elsewhere.

Paxman made 75 appearances for the Fleet having joined in 2020 and was named player-of-the-year in his first season at the club. An injury in pre-season last year hampered his chances of breaking into the side, and he instead had loan spells at Hemel Hempstead, Braintree, Dover and Worthing.

An Ebbsfleet statement said: “All of us at the Fleet wish Pax all the very best in his future. He was a hugely popular player at the club and we thank him for his contribution to the Fleet’s success in his time with us over the past three years.”