Eighteen-year-old Maltese goalkeeper James Sissons has signed for Chesterfield Football Club, linking up with the club’s academy sides for the 2025/26 season.
Sissons has represented Malta at youth level and was recently named on the senior national team bench for World Cup qualifiers against the Netherlands, Poland, Finland and Lithuania.
Chesterfield coaches were impressed by Sissons’ pre season performances, which included outings against Liverpool at academy level and during a training camp in Scotland against Hibernian and Dundee. His first appearance after putting pen to paper came on Friday, 22 August, in the EFL Youth Alliance League against Salford City.
Reflecting on his pathway, Sissons said he felt “very proud” with his first national team call up, recalling games against Switzerland at Under 16 level and Spain in Under 17 European Championship qualifiers, before graduating to the senior squad where he shared a pitch with “top teams like Holland and Poland” and players “like Van Dijk.”
The young keeper added that fellow Maltese prospect Gunner Elliott’s recent professional deal at Chesterfield has provided extra motivation. “It motivates me to take the same path… Going forward, I want to be competing in the EFL Youth Alliance League, Under 19, Under 21, Under 23 as well as the reserve games in the Central League.” He praised the work of goalkeeper coach Dave O’Hare and the academy staff, saying training has been “a good experience” as he looks to develop and progress.
Chesterfield chief executive John Croot, founder of Walking Football and a former Mosta resident, welcomed the signing and underlined the club’s connection with Malta. “We are really pleased to have our second Malta youth international sign with the club… We are looking forward to continuing developing and building links with the country,” he said, noting the Malta FA’s strategy to raise standards across the game.
Academy head of recruitment Justin Tellus said Sissons had been tracked in person while playing for the Malta Under-19s in Poland earlier this year and fits the academy’s profile. “We know he has been at Portsmouth FC as well as having had interest from Italian clubs, so we are really pleased he has joined our academy,” Tellus said, adding that Sissons has settled quickly and performed well in pre-season.
Sissons now begins his Chesterfield journey, aiming to climb the club’s developmental ladder, from the Youth Alliance through to Under 23 and Central League football, as he targets a long-term professional breakthrough in England.
