Photo Credit: Chris Vaughan/Lincoln City FC
Elicha Ahui has departed the Imps to join Scottish Championship Ayr United on a season long loan deal.
The 19-year-old made his debut for the Imps in last season, playing the full 90 minutes against Newcastle United’s U21 side in the EFL Trophy. The defender has previously spent time out on loan with Drogheda United, where he made 21 appearances. He earns rave views with the Drogs and established himself as one of their players, making him a huge loss for Kevin Doherty’s side when he was recalled earlier in the summer.
The next part of Elicha’s development will come with Ayr United. Ayr play their football in the second division of Scottish football. Following promotion from the Scottish League One, Ayr have been on the up, and last season they finished second in the Championship losing out in the play-off final, with Partick Thistle beating them 5-0.
City’s director of football Jez George said: “This is a brilliant opportunity for Elicha to play at a really competitive level in a full-time environment for a club who finished second in their league last season. Elicha has earned this loan from his performances at Drogheda and we look forward to seeing him attack this next challenge in his development pathway.”
This is a really good opportunity for Elicha in my opinion, Ayr will be looking to go automatically this season you’d imagine after their rather humiliating loss in the play-off final last year, and for Elicha to play a part in that is a big step higher than what he was doing at Drogheda. The move does come as a bit of a shock to me in a way, I expected him to stay around and play as a back-up to Lasse Sorensen, and play games like Notts County on Tuesday night, but the bigger picture is his development. He isn’t going to get in our team over Lasse, so we may as well give him that opportunity to go and play games.
I wish Elicha all the luck with the move, and I hope it helps him progress as a player and move his game forward.