Swindon Town defender Tariq Uwakwe has made the move to National League outfit Aldershot Town on a loan deal until the end of the season.
Uwakwe will now spend the remainder of the campaign in the fifth tier after joining Tommy Widdrington’s Aldershot as they look to confirm their survival, with the club three points above the drop zone.
The 25-year-old has endured a difficult two seasons at Swindon, initially arriving under Michael Flynn and exciting at left wing-back during the first 11 games of 2023/24 before suffering a long-term knee injury and then picking up another problem during his recovery that saw him miss the entirety of the rest of the season.
Having recovered from injury, Uwakwe then had a difficult pre-season which ended with him training away from the rest of the squad as Mark Kennedy attempted to offload him.
Although he did not secure a move away during the summer transfer window, Uwakwe eventually joined Maidenhead United on loan for a month but only ended up playing 75 minutes.
Ian Holloway’s arrival did not provide him with the new lease of life he would have hoped for, with the defender encouraged to follow the example of Sean McGurk and go out and get game time wherever he could.
And with his contract at the Nigel Eady County Ground expiring in the summer, he will do just that as he has headed to Aldershot to close out the campaign.
He could make his debut this evening as The Shots take on their relegation rivals Dagenham and Redbridge at home.
He told club media on his arrival: “Just getting it over the line was a delight for me as I have not played in a long time.
“This is a great place for me to be and getting it over the line was exactly what I needed right now.
“Getting games is what this is about for me, over the last four or five years I haven’t played enough minutes for me, I need to be getting a lot more game time.
“I know what I can put my body through and what it can take, I have had injuries which have slowed me down and it has been a long time since I have had a fluid run of games and I want to get back to that and help the team as much as I can.”
