Nairn County sign striker on permanent deal from Elgin City
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Nairn County have confirmed they have signed striker Ben Barron on a permanent deal from League Two outfit Elgin City.
The 19-year-old has put pen to paper on a three-year contract, keeping him at Station Park until the end of the 2026/27 season.
Barron spent a very successful loan spell with us last season, scoring 10 goals in 10 appearances before a groin injury brought a premature end to his season.
Manager Ross Tokely was thrilled to secure one of his top transfer targets for this summer.
He said on the Nairn County website: “It goes without saying we are all absolutely delighted to have brought Ben to Nairn County on a permanent basis.
“We saw what he was all about last season when he was here on loan and being a local lad, he is already a really popular figure with our supporters.
“Ben will bring loads of qualities to our forward line. He is strong, he is quick, he can finish and his all-round game will hopefully cause defences a lot of problems this season.
“He has a lot of leadership qualities as well for a young player. He is always determined to win and score goals – he has a real hunger to get on the score sheet every time he steps out on to the pitch and that will be a real asset for us.
“It was an area of the pitch we needed to strengthen having lost last season’s top scorer Andrew Macleod and with Aaron Nicolson heading off to university, so bringing Ben in gives us a top quality striker and someone who has already been a regular goal scorer in the Highland League despite still only being 19 years old.
“We are all really looking forward to working with Ben and seeing him continue to improve over the coming years with Nairn County.”
Barron started his career at Inverness Caledonian Thistle in their youth academy before going on loan to Forres Mechanics towards the end of the 2021/22 season.
After two goals in nine appearances, he made the move to Mosset Park permanent the following season, bagging a total of 14 goals in 32 appearances, earning him a move to SPFL League Two with Elgin City last summer.
After scoring on his debut against St Johnstone in the SPFL Challenge Cup, Barron went on to make a total of 20 appearances for Elgin City before joining Nairn on loan in January.
It has also been confirmed Forward Aaron Nicolson will now leave Nairn County to pursue a further education opportunity in Edinburgh.
The 18-year-old striker had agreed a new contract with us at the end of last season but will now be relocating over the summer.
Nicolson is a former Scotland schoolboys international who joined us from Inverness Caledonian Thistle last summer.
