Men's football news
Written by: DanielL
Lewes FC are pleased to confirm the signing of forward Martell Taylor-Crossdale on a three-month deal.
Taylor-Crossdale joins the Rooks on loan from Tonbridge Angels, where he played under current Lewes men’s first team manager Craig Nelson in the National League South earlier this season.
The 25-year-old made his debut for Lewes against Brentwood Town on 8th November, coming on as a 62nd-minute substitute and curling in the fourth and final goal.
Taylor-Crossdale is a former England youth international who scored seven times for his country from under-16 to under-20 level.
A right-footed striker, his signing helps to boost Lewes’ attacking options and forms part of Nelson’s reinforcement of his squad, which sits eighth in the Isthmian League Premier Division table.
Taylor-Crossdale’s playing career started with Chelsea in the Premier League team’s academy system.
A move to nearby Fulham led to a League Cup appearance as a stoppage-time substitute for the Cottagers in 2019.
His post-academy career in non-league began with Weymouth in 2021-22, although his most productive spell with a single club to date came in 2023-24, playing for Cymru Premier side Haverfordwest County.
Taylor-Crossdale netted 12 times for the Welsh outfit, with one of those goals coming in the UEFA Conference League qualifying stage.
After a single season in Wales, he returned to England to play for Welling United in the 2024-25 National League South season, before signing for Tonbridge in the summer.
“I worked with Martell at Tonbridge,” said Nelson. “He’s a great kid who can bring some added experience to us.
“He’s generally a forward, playing up front, but can play off the sides as you saw [against Brentwood Town].
“He’s got that little bit of quality that allows us to execute, and to have different ways of playing, because the profiles of the boys we’ve got in the top half of the pitch are all different.
“As you’ve seen, he [only] needs one chance to score.”
Reflecting on his Lewes debut, Taylor-Crossdale said: “It went well. I came on and tried to fit the game. Managed to get a goal, but the main thing is we got the points.
“Straight away, it’s been a very warm welcome to Lewes.
“The fans are great – it gets noisy in here! It’s just like a big family, and it feels good.”