Brecon’s Kiban Rai has recently signed for National League Side, Aldershot Town after his contract at League Two side Newport County had expired.

The youngster went out on loan last season to Merthyr Town and despite his spell at the club being cut short due to injury, the 20-year-old helped Merthyr win the Southern League Premier South.

Rai joins ‘The Shots’ who play their football in Hampshire at The EBB Stadium. Aldershot finished 16th in the league last year, but won the FA Trophy competition, beating Spennymoor Town 3-0 at Wembley in the Final.

Rai's first interview as an Aldershot Town player.

The club announced the signing on Wednesday, 25 June, with a social media post that said: “We’re pleased to confirm the signing of Kiban Rai following the expiry of his contract with Newport County!”

Speaking about the signing, Aldershot Town Manager, Tommy Widdrington, said: “Kiban is first and foremost a really exciting prospect.

“Having played in The EFL as a teenager tells you the quality is in there and having met and chatted with him, I feel we can provide him with the kind of platform his skill set requires.

“I understand there will be conjecture connecting Kiban with the Aldershot connections with the Nepalese community but, as I explained to Kiban himself, he is here on merit and we are looking forward to working with him because of his football ability.”

Similar to Brecon, where Kiban grew up, Aldershot has a strong connection with Nepal due to the historical presence of the Gurkha Brigade and the settlement of many Gurkha families in the area.

Aldershot has even been nicknamed “Little Nepal” or “Little Kathmandu.”

With his first interview at his new club, Kiban Rai told Shots TV: “I’m delighted to sign. It was in the pipeline for a while, so I’m delighted to be here and can’t wait to get going.

“My aim is to hit the ground running, establish myself in the team and hopefully bring some more success to the club. I watched the FA Trophy final and it’s really good that the club got to play at Wembley and win as well and I think the club wants to push forward off the back of that too and hopefully I can be a part of it.”

When asked what type of player he is and what the fans can expect, Rai said: “I would describe myself as quite a creative, technical player; a player who likes to link up with teammates, find pockets but also but chip in with goals and assists and that’s what I’ll be looking to do.”

As his time at Newport County comes to an end, Rai’s most memorable moments will be his first team debut at the age of 17 for the Exiles in a 3-1 loss to League Two side Salford City, his first professional goal which he scored against Premier League side, Brentford, in the EFL Cup and lining up alongside Manchester United in the FA Cup at Rodney Parade. He made 30 senior team appearances at Newport. The attacking midfielder will be looking to make more memories in his next chapter at Aldershot.