Reds Send Player Of The Year Out On Loan To League Rivals

A powerful young central defender, the former Notts County trainee joined the Reds from Grantham Town in December 2015.

He quickly settled into life in National League North with some man-of-the-match performances, Strong and brave in the air, he reads the game very well and commands his back-line.

He captained the Notts County under-18 side, during the 2013/14 campaign in which he also impressed in their development squad, which saw him rewarded with a professional contract.

A freak hand injury during the 2-0 win at Curzon Ashton in February, ruled him out of the rest of the 2015/16 campaign.

Last season 2016/17 saw McGowan become a model of consistency. He made forty-eight appearances for the Reds, scoring one goal and scooped the Reds` player of the year award.

McGowan has featured during pre-season but has yet to make an appearance in the 2017/18 campaign.

Alfreton manager John McDermott said: “The decision is purely for Brad to gain fitness and minutes. We have lots of competition at the back and with the centre backs we brought in, Billy and Shielsy have had an excellent defensive partnership and they have looked strong.

“We have Tom Allan on the bench who can play left-back when needed, so we wanted Brad to head out and stay fit, gain match fitness, stay sharp because if we lost a centre back down the line we can call on him to come into the side.

“We wanted him to stay at the same level, so it’s a good move for him, we want him to enjoy his football and the door is not shut here for him at all. He was a massive part of the side last season, he needs to be patient, this is a decision which is not to get rid of him but simply to make sure he stays fit and stays sharp and gets minutes under his belt”.