New Crawley striker Leroy Huggins has drawn comparisons with Ian Wright, and no one is better qualified to know than manager Billy Smith.

Huggins got his Reds career off to an electric start with the winning goal on his debut against Moor Green on Saturday after signing from Fisher.

Smith had Wright on trial when he was in charge at Dulwich Hamlet 15 years ago and alerted Crystal Palace to his potential. The rest is history.

Huggins, at 24, is three years older than the rookie Wright, but his pace reminds the Reds boss of his greatest-ever find.

Smith said: "His game is different, but his pace and running is identical. If Leroy works hard in the next couple of years there is no reason why he can't be a late developer and play at a higher level.

"He only had one chance and took it."

Huggins plays down any similarities with Wright, but is excited to be at Crawley and already has a taste for the big time.

He said: "I would love to be a professional and that's still my aim. This might be the highest level I play, but I'll be trying my hardest to progress.

"To get that sort of praise from Billy is flattering, but I won't get carried away with it. I will just play to the best of my abilities and hope things work out.

"I wasn't used to playing in front of big crowds at Fisher, so it was nice to hear a lot of encouragement from the large Crawley following. Everyone has been great and Billy Smith seems like a genuine sort of guy. He obviously liked what he saw."

Smith said: "We needed pace. There wasn't enough of it in the side. His signing has given everyone a boost."

Crawley picked up an extra £15,000 this week when former defender Jay Lovett's made his 15th appearance for Brentford in the 2-1 defeat against Reading. Reds were paid £60,000 up front, with another £15,000 after Lovett's first 15 matches.

Crawley have signed goalkeepeer Jimmy Glass as cover for Andy Little. Glass made his name scoring the goal that kept Carlisle in the Football League in 1999.