Gateshead have signed the winger Michael Spellman on a one-year deal with the option of a further 12 months, the National League club's latest piece of summer business, following his departure from Newport County after his contract there expired in the summer.
Spellman, 23, a product of Sunderland's academy and a north-east native, spent the last two seasons at Newport, making 72 appearances and scoring seven goals. He was voted the club's fans' player of the season for 2025-26, having finished as joint top scorer on five goals despite an ankle injury, suffered in a win at Barnet in March, that kept him out for the closing weeks of a season the Exiles survived on the final day.
Rob Elliot left Gateshead in May after overseeing their own escape from National League relegation, and it is now Lee Cattermole overseeing the summer rebuild. The club have already added defender Kyle Ferguson on a two-year deal and handed top scorer Harry Chapman a new one-year contract as they prepare for the new season.
Spellman said he was relishing a return north. "First and foremost I want to bring goals, I want to bring assists and I want to get the fans off their seats," he told the club website.