Peterborough United striker Matty Stevens was one of the players on the retained list at the end of last season but was also pencilled in to go out on loan in the forthcoming season. The reason behind that decision was that Posh boss Steve Evans didn’t really know anything about Stevens other than he had been signed from Barnet but “discarded” by the previous management.
Being discarded probably turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Stevens as he spent the majority of last season on loan at local side Kettering Town. He initially signed on loan for a month but such was the impact he made at the Poppies, he stayed for the rest of the season making 44 apearances while scoring 25 goals.
He’s continued that form into pre-season with only new recruit Siriki Dembele keeping up with the 20-year-olds scoring rate in pre-season. He’s found the back of the net on four occasions during the five pre-season matches played so far and while he’s not the finished article, he is doing well so far showing Evans just what he is capable of.
Stevens is taking nothing for granted though as he explains to the Official Posh website: “The gaffer at Peterborough has been brilliant with me. He has played me in the pre-season games and has taken me to Portugal and now it is down to me to impress him and show him what I can do. It is going okay, but I don’t want to get too ahead of myself. I am looking forward to the next game and doing as well as I can. It is fair to say that it is a big year for me though”.
If Stevens continues to find the back of the net regularly during the last few remaining pre-season games, could we see the forward remain at the ABAX Stadium?
Even if he doesn’t stay and is loaned out to further his footballing education, at least we’ve seen glimpses of what Stevens is capable of and should expect to see him challenge for a first team squad place next season.
