David Artell believes that Brad Walker’s whirlwind transfer to Crewe Alexandra this summer will be a great learning curve for the 21-year-old. The Crewe Alexandra boss and staff have taken it upon themselves to help the midfielder settle quickly into his new environment since he completed his move from Hartlepool during the pre-season.

Walker, who came through the ranks at Victoria Park, has had to adjust living away from home for the first time and Artell believes that the likeable lad will only benefit from the experience.

Walker has already shown his potential with two goals in pre-season against Buxton and Bury and Artell was pleased with his overall performance at Gigg Lane after being selected in a more advanced midfield role.

David told crewealex.net: “We played Brad higher on Saturday and I thought he was terrific for us. We played Ryan (Wintle) in the deeper role and that allowed Brad to get in and around their box. He got his goal and I thought the combination worked well. It is something we will look at again.

“Brad is on a learning curve. He has joined a new club and it is a big change for him. He has to live on his own and cope with that. He has had to move away from home and cope on his own, with his cleaning and cooking. It is all great life experience for him.

“It has been a bit of a whirlwind and it’s been a big month for him. He is a really terrific kid and he had his best game for us on Saturday. He deserved the plaudits coming his way because he did everything we asked of him.

The boss added: “He had to build on that and replicate that level of performance.”