Eli King says former Crewe Alexandra stars Perry Ng and Ryan Wintle were a ‘good influence’ in his decision to join the club on loan.

The 19-year-old midfielder, who has penned a deal until January, says his Cardiff City teammates spoke in glowing terms about The Railwaymen.

Ng and Wintle spent many years at Mornflake Stadium and were key men in our promotion in 2019-20.

Now King is keen to get started, with a potential debut at Bradford City on Saturday (3pm) looming.

He said: “Perry and Wints came to me and said a few people from Crewe had spoken to them about me.

“They really recommended the club, they said this is a great club and said I’d enjoy it and it would be a great move for me.

“I trust them because they are good lads, so they were a good influence on me deciding to come here.”

He added: “I’m really looking forward to it. First and foremost, I want to help the team. I know we’ve made a decent start so I want to add to that.

“I want to play games - the more I do that in stadiums and in front of fans, trying to earn points, the better. It’s exciting.”

King, a Wales Under-21 international who will wear the number 20 shirt for Crewe, will add extra competition for places in the engine room.

He said: “I like to do a bit of everything. I like to get forward, defend, work hard for the team, and win the ball back. I feel I can help the team dictate games.”