Cliftonville announce signing of former Tottenham Hotspur youth product from Ayr United

The 27-year-old, who started his career in Tottenham Hotspur’s youth academy before spells at non-league clubs including Stansted, Witham Town and Hemel Hempsted Town, becomes Jim Magilton’s fifth summer arrival after Ben Wilson, Sean Stewart, David Odumosu and Conor Pepper.

Ashford signed for League Two outfit Crawley Town in 2020 and spent time on-loan in the National League with Woking before moving north to Ayr United.

He joins an attack that has already scored 11 Sports Direct Premiership goals in four matches at the start of the new campaign and could be in line for his Reds debut on Saturday when Cliftonville host reigning champions Larne.

“Sam is a player who’s been on our radar pretty much since day one,” said Magilton. “We’ve monitored him, kept an eye on his situation and we’ve had to be patient but I’m very pleased everything has come together for us to get a deal done.

“He’s a player who will give us something extra in attack and I know he’s very hungry and very excited about coming into the Irish League with Cliftonville.”