Image source, ShutterstockEastleigh have signed winger Dion Rankine on loan from Crewe Alexandra until January.
The 23-year-old made 15 appearances for Crewe in all competitions last season and has also had spells with Exeter City and Wigan Athletic.
Image source, Getty ImagesLewis Billington was one of only two Crewe players who started every League Two game in 2025-26
Crewe Alexandra defender Lewis Billington said he has been working a lot on developing his game to become a more complete player as he aims to build on last season's positives.
The 22-year-old started every League Two match for the Alex last term and recently signed a new three-year contract to extend his career-long association with the club that started when he was six.
He has clocked up 113 appearances across four campaigns and told BBC Radio Stoke he has spent the summer thinking about how he takes his game to the next level.
"I have thought about this in the last few weeks and I think I understand the game a lot better than I did even this time last season," he said.
"So that probably helps with experience and talking to others on the pitch and off it.
"My general understanding in different positions has developed over the last few years.
"I thought about how the season went and what I could do better and what I did well how you can get better."
Billington made his debut aged 18 in April 2022 - an occasion he felt he "probably wasn't ready for" - but said the FA Cup ties against Derby County 19 months later "felt right, like I deserved to be there".
He has been challenged this summer by Crewe's player development manager Kenny Lunt to become the best right-back in League Two and Billington knows he still needs to add more dimensions to his role.
"If I could match the games and minutes played [last season] then that would be fantastic - or just adding that threat going forward," Billington said.
"Whether it's a goal, or assist, or even just helping build moves and then on the other side of it doing my job and defending a little bit better, whether that's 1v1s or as a unit in general."
Image source, ShutterstockKenny Lunt played more than 400 games for Crewe in three spells for the club
Crewe Alexandra's player development manager Kenny Lunt says Lewis Billington should be challenging himself to prove he is the "best right-back in the league" now he is staying at the club.
The 22-year-old has extended his long association with the Alex by signing a new three-year contract, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2028-29 season.
Billington was one of only two players to start every game in League Two last term, and only twice failed to play the full 90 minutes.
Lunt said the defender's new deal was excellent news.
"He plays every minute. He's done really well and he's another one who's come on miles, leaps and bounds, and if he keeps developing, hopefully he'll play a lot more for this football club and hopefully one day we can sell him on for quite a lot of money," he told BBC Radio Stoke.
"He could add a goal or two from set-pieces, more assists, stopping more crosses, but he's doing ever so well."
Lunt added that if Billington can do that, he will have "more options" over where his future career takes him.
"The way he's going, the more clubs keep looking. He can't stand still, he knows that. He knows you need to keep on improving and he's got a lot of improving still to do.
"He's obviously being consistent, but can he be consistently the best right-back in our league? - so he gets that move he's after one day."
Lunt also gave an update on the club's search for more signings before the start of the season.
With three new players already in - striker Jordan Gibson, centre-back Luke Offord and midfielder Joe White - Lunt said they are looking at strengthening more areas.
"I think anyone can see with the number of centre-forwards last year, maybe we could have another striker option, another centre-half, maybe, and another left-back for some competition for Reece [Hutchinson]," he said.
"Everything's close all the time, but everything's still a few miles away. We'd like to have more numbers in the squad and if we can get another few more bodies through the door, I'm sure it will be in a good place."
Image source, ShutterstockLewis Billington made his Crewe debut as an 18-year-old in April 2022
Crewe Alexandra defender Lewis Billington has signed a new three-year contract with the League Two club.
Billington, 22, has been with the Railwaymen since he was six years old and has made more than 100 appearances for the first team.
He had been considering the club's offer of a new deal since the end of last season but will now stay on at the Mornflake Stadium into a sixth senior season.
Billington joins strikers Adrien Thibaut, Josh March and Fin Roberts and midfielders Luca Moore and Conor Thomas in signing new deals with Crewe this summer.
Image source, Getty ImagesLuca Moore made five appearances in League Two last season, all off the bench
Midfielder Luca Moore has signed a new two-year contract with Crewe Alexandra.
Moore was part of the youth set-up at Birmingham City before joining The Railwaymen where he has made 11 first-team appearances.
The 20-year-old made his senior debut in the EFL Trophy in October 2024 before his Football League bow in February last year.
He joins strikers Adrien Thibaut and Josh March and midfielder Conor Thomas in penning new deals with Crewe this summer.
Image source, ShutterstockJoe White is a former England Under-18 international
Crewe Alexandra have signed midfielder Joe White from Premier League Newcastle United on a two-year contract.
The 23-year-old had a previous loan spell with the Alex in the first half of the 2023-24 season, when he scored three goals in 25 games.
Since then, White has had further temporary stints in the English Football League with MK Dons, Leyton Orient and Bradford City.
He has been with the Magpies his whole career and made four Premier League appearances as a substitute in April 2024, having come through through the club's Under-21 side.
White is the third new player to join boss Lee Bell's squad for the new season after returning captain Luke Offord and striker Jordan Gibson.
