Exeter City sign winger Mustapha Carayol on short-term deal

Exeter City sign winger Mustapha Carayol on short-term deal


Exeter City have completed the signing of Mustapha Carayol on a short term deal. The winger joins Gary Caldwell's side after completing the PFA's pre-season training programme and has been training with the team for the last couple of weeks on a deal which runs until January 20, 2025.

Free agent Carayol, 36, joins up with the Grecians. He has been registered in time to be available for selection for City's match against Stevenage on Saturday at St James Park.

The experienced attacker, who predominantly operates as a left or right winger has been without a club since leaving fellow League One side Burton Albion last season, where he played 30 times, scoring once.

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Carayol arrives at the club having had a fantastic career so far. He began as a youth player at Swindon Town before moving to MK Dons. He would get his first taste of men's football at Crawley Town during the 2007-08 season.

His big break came in 2012 when he joined Championship side Middlesbrough making 50 appearances and scoring 11 times. Further loans in the Championship to Brighton, Huddersfield Town and Leeds United saw him gain further playing time before joining Nottingham Forest permanently.

After a further spell at Ipswich Town, Mustapha headed to Apollon Limassol of the Cypriot First Division and then Adana Demirspor of TFF 1. Lig in Turkey before heading back to England for spells at Gillingham and Burton Albion. Mustapha has also made seven appearances for his national side Gambia.

Speaking about bringing Mustapha to City, Caldwell said: "He is someone that has had a fantastic career, playing in the Championship and abroad and has great experience.

"He played with Kevin Nicholson years ago, so knows him well personally. He came to us after doing the PFA Training programme and is in fantastic physical condition. He brings a 1v1 threat and speed to the team we are missing at the moment with the amount of wide players we have out injured.

"We are delighted to have him at the club, because he has been training with us it feels like he's been at the club for a period of time and should fit into the team pretty seamlessly.

"He knows the league but has experiences in other leagues and is a great character and has fitted in well so far. Hopefully he can get on the pitch and start giving us that end product in the final third and will be a huge addition to that part of the pitch for us.

"He will probably start by building his minutes up from the bench and give us an impact if we are losing or winning because of his experience."

"I'm really excited to be here and am thankful for the opportunity, hopefully I can help the team as much as I can,” Carayol added.

"I've been with the team for the last two weeks and everyone has been welcoming - I've really enjoyed it."

Speaking about what fans can expect from him, he added: "A lot of wing play and 1v1s, I like to get crosses into the box and shots so hopefully I can supply the strikers and get Josh (Magennis) some goals so he can stop complaining!"