The Iron bolster their ranks with the addition of forward James Gale

Scunthorpe United is delighted to announce the signing of centre forward James Gale, who joins the club following his departure from Enterprise National League side Macclesfield FC.

A 24-year-old forward who brings depth and power to the United front line, Gale started his career with his local side, Long Eaton United. However, it wouldn't take long for him to attract the attention of Mansfield Town as the Stags acted quickly to acquire the services of the 6'4ft target man.

After arriving at the One Call Stadium, Gale would apply his trade amongst the youth team before acquiring a further taste of men's football by joining Guiseley on loan, where he scored four goals in 11 games. Upon his return to the Stags, Gale would break into the first team, making an impressive 47 appearances, during which time he scored seven goals and assisted a further three, including a remarkable strike against MK Dons to help all but secure Mansfield's promotion to League One in the 2023/24 season.

With the Stags promoted from League Two that season, Gale would be sent on loan to gain National League experience when he first joined Solihull Moors, where he achieved five goal contributions in 17 games at Damson Park, before heading out to aid Boston United's great escape to stay in the fifth tier, scoring three goals in 21 games.

Following these loan spells, Gale would make the decision to depart Mansfield, joining Altrincham on a permanent deal in the summer of 2025, a spell that would last just half a season, as despite netting five times in his first 24 games for the Robins, the forward would elect to make the switch to National League North play-off hunters Macclesfield where he would go on to enjoy his most prolific spell of his career to date, scoring eight times in just 24 appearances for the Silkmen.

Welcome to the Iron, Galey!