Ross County’s latest recruit Jack Wells-Morrison believes a move to Dingwall was the right choice for him to push on with his career.
The former Crystal Palace academy captain departed Selhurst Park in the summer after 15 years with the Premier League club and spent the latter part of 2025 looking for the right opportunity.
Ex-Staggies manager Tony Docherty invited him in to train with County, and the 21-year-old caught the eye in sessions and bounce games, earning a contract until the end of the season.
Despite loan spells in the English National League with Wealdstone and Solihull Moors, the switch feels like a step up into senior football within the Scottish Championship.
It is a test, however, that Wells-Morrison is eager to take on.
“I was quite happy to leave Palace in the end and get stuck into men’s football,” he explained.
“With the time I’ve had out, I’ve got that new fire to get going and experience as many games as I can.
“Without the year I experienced last year, coming here would probably have been a lot more difficult.
“My loans helped me massively, and it’s important for any young player to get out and play men’s football because 21s football doesn’t really reflect what you’re coming into. That’s why so many lads perhaps struggle when they come out of 21s football.
“I had a really good development at Crystal Palace. It didn’t work out for whatever reason, but I’m just looking to get my career started.
“My agent and I knew the previous manager, Tony Docherty, and I had been training here for the last four or five weeks, so the style of football suited the way I like to play.
“I thought this would be the best opportunity for me to kick on with my career.”
Wells-Morrison made his Ross County debut as a late substitute in last week’s scoreless draw with St Johnstone, and he is determined to earn further chances to impress moving forward.
He has arrived in Dingwall at a challenging period for County, but he remains confident he can contribute whenever called upon.
“It was such a relief (to play again),” he added.
“It has been a long six months or so in terms of getting back fit and getting back into the swing of things, but my fitness is building every week so I’m excited for more.
“I’m 100 per cent aware we’re the team at the bottom of the Championship, but I can see training with this squad that this is a good standard.
“I’ll hope to bring an energy and something new to the team. I won’t say I know a lot about the league or football but I’m confused about the league position we’re in.
“Having trained here, this is a good set of players. Saturday was a start against St Johnstone, something just clicked, so we want to take that forward.”