By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor
Ched Evans, the ex-Sheffield United and Wales forward has signed a contract to play for Chesterfield only three months before he faces a new trail over a rape allegation.
The League One club have made the controversial decision and it is rumored he will be paid £2,000 a week. He had been linked to a move to Oldham Athletic recently but public pressure made the club back down and decided they couldn’t risk signing him.
Evans made a short statement where he said he was “very excited and privileged to be resuming my career” at Chesterfield, who have signed him on a one-year contract from 1 July.
Ched added in a statement released by the club, “I hope to make a valuable contribution both on and off the pitch for the football club, the fans and the community.”
Back in 2012 he was convicted for raping a 19-year-old and was sentenced to five years in jail.
Evans served half of his sentence and was then released in Oct 2014. Ched has always said he was innocent and managed to have his conviction quashed at a court of appeal hearing, earlier in 2016.
However, he was ordered to face a retrial which will begin this October.
Chesterfield’s manager, Danny Wilson, was previously manager at Sheffield United, where Evans was a £20,000-a-week star before his conviction.
Chesterfield’s chairman, Dave Allen, said the club was “delighted to have secured the services of an outstanding footballer, who is now keen to get back to work and score goals.
“Chesterfield Football Club have given a great deal of thought to this signing and, following the court’s decision, we are in no doubt that Ched Evans should be welcomed back into his profession as a professional footballer.”