Chesterfield add defender Briggs on short-term contract

(Photo: Action Images via Reuters)

By Alex Beard

The transfer window may have slammed shut, but that hasn’t stopped Chesterfield manager Gary Caldwell from making moves today.

The Spireites have announced that experienced defender Matt Briggs has signed for the club on a short-term contract.

Briggs had been a free agent since his Colchester contract expired at the end of last season, ending a two-year stay with the U’s.

He has swiftly been snapped up by Caldwell, however, and the Chesterfield boss was thrilled to get his man: “Matt has great pedigree, having played at a higher level. He will provide us with physicality, pace and power down the left-hand side.”

The 26-year-old also spoke to the Spireites official website about the move: “It feels good to be here. I’ve been looking for a club over the summer and it’s a good opportunity which Gary Caldwell has given me to show what I can do.

“I had a tough time last season with an injury but the manager and Guy Branston have told me to come here, express myself and get back to my best.”

Briggs was the Premier League‘s youngest ever player when he made his Fulham debut aged 16 years and 65 days, and subsequently enjoyed a number of loan spells away from Craven Cottage.

He moved to Millwall in 2014, before joining Colchester on loan six months later. That move was then made permanent in the summer of 2015, but he now moves on to a fresh challenge with the League Two side.