Wanderers have made their third summer signing with the capture of exciting forward Klaidi Lolos from Crawley Town.
Lolos moves to the Whites for an undisclosed fee on a three-year deal and joins defender Chris Forino and goalkeeper Luke Southwood as early additions to Ian Evatt’s squad.
The 23-year-old scored 15 times last season to help spearhead Crawley’s promotion success in League Two and will add an extra attacking dimension to Wanderers as a highly creative player, capable of operating in a variety of forward positions through the spine of the team.
As well as an eye for goal, Lolos also brings added quality as someone adept at running with the ball to help open up defences and is seen as a versatile player with huge further growth potential and a desire to fight for a place and keep proving himself at higher levels.
The former Plymouth Argyle youngster completed his move to the Toughsheet Community Stadium as the Wanderers’ players reported back for pre-season and flew out to Portugal today as part of Evatt’s squad for their training camp on the Algarve.
The Wanderers’ manager said: “He's a very talented boy. Physically he's really good, aggressive with and without the ball, and extremely technical.
“He will give us options in-game because he can play multiple positions really well. He is a creator, goal-scorer, both-footed and there's also improvement to come. He's a young player who's had a journey that’s made him hungry.
“Last season was very successful for Crawley in general and Klaidi was very impressive in that and we've worked very hard to make this happen.”
Evatt – who has been backed by the Board to strengthen a squad that finished third in League One last season – added: “We thought about how we improve the squad and re-energise the squad.
“It's important that we get fresh people in, with a fresh outlook and fresh positivity, and so far, we're pleased with the business that we're doing and there's more to be done yet. We're working very hard to get players in to improve the team and squad.”
Athens-born Lolos emerged through the youth ranks at Plymouth – after previously spending time at Olympiakos and in the Academy set-up at Crystal Palace – to earn a first professional deal at Home Park ahead of the 2019/20 season.
The Albanian national went on to make 16 first-team appearances for Argyle, as well as gaining loan experience at non-league clubs Dorchester Town and Chippenham Town.
He then joined National League side Torquay United in July, 2021 before a return to the EFL with Crawley via a prolific season at Oxford City, which brought him 16 goals as Oxford won promotion from National League South via the play-offs in 2023.
Lolos’ move to Crawley proved an outstanding success as he immediately emerged as was one of the driving forces behind a memorable 2023/24 season which saw the Red Devils clinch promotion.
The former Greece Under-19 international scored 13 times in League Two as Scott Lindsey’s side roared into the play-offs before clinching promotion by beating Crewe Alexandra 2-0 in the Wembley final.
Eight goals – and often crucial late ones – in a 12-game spell from Lolos during last season’s run-in proved crucial as Crawley reached League One for only the second time in their history.
Lolos now makes the step up with the Whites as he looks to continue his upward trajectory and continue his development at Wanderers.