Macclesfield FC can confirm that Fin Foote, Sam Elliott, Rhys Yates and Harry McGowan have agreed to join Foley Meir, Northwich Victoria and Winsford United on loan respectively.
All four youth academy and BTEC programme products have impressed during their time at the Leasing.com Stadium in the youth squads, and in some instances, training and playing with the first team, deservedly earning them senior loans at North West Counties level to further develop themselves as people and their future footballing careers.
We are delighted to announce that Fin and Sam will both proudly represent the Silkmen as part of our Emerging Talent Group, forming a direct pathway and stepping stone between our Youth Academy and First Team, whilst Rhys and Harry will continue to progress as top students on our BTEC programme.
Fin and Sam have featured most prominently in and around the first team, invited by John Rooney to train with the First Team during pre-season, prior to which they also made ad-hoc appearances in the final few sessions last season.
The two newest members of the Emerging Talent Group have appeared as trialists in the earlier pre-season games ahead of the new campaign and now venture out to learn their trade week in, week out at an extremely competitive level, as we experienced first hand in our inaugural season as Macclesfield FC.
BTEC students Rhys and Harry have also been on the periphery of making the step up to the first team, and kept a close eye on by First Team Manager John Rooney whilst under the stewardship of Academy Coaches Ross Speight and Rhys Evans.
The two budding talents impressed in the U18’s FA Youth Cup midway through last season under Management duo Evans and Speight, and are returning for their second year of our BTEC course in September, and will be partly taught in the classroom by Ross as they remain at the Leasing.com Stadium during their loans with Northwich Victoria and Winsford United respectively.
Sam and Rhys will join up with a familiar face in Speight at Northwich, who has recently become First Team Coach for the Vics, and will provide a direct support line to them during their time away from Macclesfield with a home from home feel to their moves.
Whilst not under such close supervision, Fin Foote’s temporary move to Foley Meir has a familiar feel to it having initially linked up with Meir for the second half of last season under Mark Lawton, who was keen to retain Fin for another season, making the move a seamless transition for both Club and player.
As the only player heading somewhat in to the unknown, though with valuable experience under his belt at Ashton Athletic last season, Harry McGowan heads to pastures new in the form of Winsford United. However, McGowan’s move to United won’t be entirely alien to those around Harry, with the fellow Cheshire-based side first taking Sam Elliott, Tyler Mistry and Kerr Dollochin on loan last season, who are close team mates of McGowan and will be able to share their experiences and provide him with plenty of encouragement as he enters a brand new environment.
Each of the players initially join up with their respective Club for the first three months of the 2026/27 season with a view to recall each of them if required to join back up with the Silkmen. Each of the lads’ progression will be monitored closely, thanks to the close relationship developed with each Club, and will feed regular reports back in to the coaching staff at Macclesfield, who ultimately will determine their next steps.
We’d like to wish Fin, Sam, Rhys and Harry the very best of luck during their time away from the Club and look forward to welcoming them back to the Leasing.com Stadium for the next step in their ever-enhancing careers.
