We are delighted to welcome Josh Gould to the club who has signed from AFC Totton.
The highly rated 27 year old goalkeeper who was born in Taunton has considerable experience at Southern League level and above, beginning his career locally with Bridgwater Town whilst also representing England Schoolboys South West. He then went on to play for Taffs Well in the Welsh League when attending Cardiff Metropolitan University which led to a trial at Swansea City where he was offered a one year contract, extended by a further two years in January 2020. During his time with the Swans, Josh spent loan periods at both Barry Town and Ebbsfleet United before he left Swansea at the end of the 2021-22 season. After initially signing for Swindon Supermarine he soon moved on to Bath City but returned to the Wiltshire club in January 2023 before a move to Salisbury followed at the end of the season. He switched to AFC Totton in March this year where he helped his new club reach the Play-Off Final.
Josh, who featured for the Stags in their recent victory over Taunton, told us:” I’m delighted to be here and finally be able to play for my hometown club. I’ve kept an eye on the club and can see the clear progression under Luffers this season. He’s someone I’m looking forward to playing for. I’ve only heard good things about the manager and the changing room he’s built in such a short space of time. It excites me to be a local player playing in front of the great fan base that Taunton has and hopefully I can add to the good start this group has already had to the season.”
Town manager Richard Luffman commented:” Josh is a proper goalkeeper, a Taunton lad who’s been the best keeper in the league for the past season and a bit and although we weren’t actively pursuing a keeper we had to move when he became available. Josh has a presence, unreal shot-stopping ability and most importantly for us, he’s comfortable in possession and he’ll help us build our attacks from deep with a great mixture of short and long passing.”