Eastleigh Football Club are delighted to announce the signing of centre-back Ludwig Francillette following his departure from Crawley Town.

Francillette was born in Guadeloupe and played youth team football for Dijon in France until 2018, when he was scouted by Newcastle United of the Premier League.

He initially joined the Magpies’ U23 setup and made 5 appearances in the EFL trophy between 2019 and 2021 playing against the likes of Bolton and Crewe Alexandre.

However, he was released by Newcastle in 2021, and set his sights on professional first team football.

Francillette was signed by Crawley following a successful trial period including scoring in a pre-season friendly against West Ham.

The 6’4″ defender made 44 senior appearances for the League 2 side across his two seasons in the first team.

Francillette, 24, has also represented his native Guadeloupe at youth international level.

Upon the deal being completed, Lee Bradbury, said: “Ludwig is someone I’ve known since my Crawley days. Straight away he’s an imposing figure, 6’5″, mobile, can play.”

“His background is from Newcastle U21s and he came in to Crawley and straight away, I was impressed with him.”

“I’m excited to get him in the building, we’ve wanted a centre-half of his stature for a while and it’s taken quite a while to get him in but we’re looking forward to having him at the club.”