Fleetwood win race for Howell

Sky Sports understands Fleetwood have won the race to sign Crawley Town defender Dean Howell.

Cod Army move to bring in defender

Sky Sports understands Fleetwood have won the race to sign Crawley Town defender Dean Howell. Fleetwood boss Micky Mellon is believed to have fended off interest from several other clubs to win the race for free agent Howell. Ambitious League Two new boys Fleetwood are keen to bolster their squad and Howell has agreed a two-year deal at Highbury. Former Notts County and Crewe man Howell, who joined Crawley in the summer of 2010, has played a key role in helping the Red Devils to successive promotions from the Conference to League One. Howell is excited about the move to Fleetwood and he hopes to achieve similar success like he did at Crawley and lead the Cod Army to promotion to League One. "It is an exciting move and I see similarities with Fleetwood and Crawley Town," Howell told skysports.com. "I was very impressed by the chairman and the manager and they have big plans. "The manager's passion is superb and the chairman is backing the manager in the transfer market so I think I can enjoy more success at Fleetwood like I did at Crawley. "I had other offers, but I just felt Fleetwood was right and they have the same ambition as myself. "I want to make history at Fleetwood like Crawley have done and put Fleetwood on the map by helping them to success."