Crawley Town sign Kabongo Tshimanga on two-year deal

Crawley Town Football Club have confirmed the signing of forward Kabongo Tshimanga on a two-year contract following his release from Peterborough United.

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The 26-year-old striker joins the Red Devils as a free agent and has already linked up with Scott Lindsey's squad in Spain for pre-season training.

Tshimanga will wear the number nine shirt as he looks to reignite the prolific form that made him one of non-league football's most feared forwards.

Although his time at Peterborough proved challenging where he made just 13 appearances across two seasons without scoring, he enjoyed a productive loan spell at Swindon Town last term, netting 12 goals and providing three assists in 42 appearances across all competitions.

Best known for his goal-scoring exploits at Chesterfield, Tshimanga struck 32 times in 42 matches during a remarkable campaign in the National League, which earned him a move to Peterborough in January 2023.

Across spells with Oxford City, Boreham Wood, and Chesterfield, he amassed 74 goals in 141 appearances, collecting a host of individual accolades along the way.

His honours include four consecutive selections to the National League and National League South Teams of the Year between 2018 and 2022. He was named Oxford City's Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year in 2018–19, when he scored 37 goals in all competitions, and claimed both awards again at Chesterfield for the 2021–22 season.

A former England C international, Tshimanga has earned a reputation as a quick and powerful striker who thrives running at defenders and possesses the instincts of a natural poacher and he could feature for the Reds as early as Friday when they play Scottish side Hearts in Spain for a pre-season friendly.