Exeter City Football Club is delighted to announce that Ed James has signed a new one year deal that will extend his , with a club option for an additional year.
The extension will see the Welshman remain at St James Park at least until the end of the 2026/27 season.
During 2021/22 Ed played in defence for the under-18s before starting 2022/23 with a short spell on loan at Saltash United before and returning to City to make his first-team debut on 4 October 2022 against Southampton under-21 in the EFL Trophy. He quickly followed this up with his league debut as a 36th minute substitute at home to Oxford United on 15th October 2022. Spending further spells on loan with Weymouth and Tiverton, Ed signed his first professional contract with Exeter City in March 2023 ahead of seeing out the season with Tiverton where he was a member of the side that won the Devon St Luke's Bowl.
Ed appeared against Arsenal under-21 in the EFL Trophy in October 2023 before being loaned to Dorchester Town where he was named young player of the year. Finishing the season in Dorset, Ed signed a contract extension with Exeter City in April 2024 until the end of the 2025/26 season and reappeared for the first-team against Swindon Town in the EFL Trophy in September 2024 together with captaining the under-21s in Premier League Cup fixtures and appearing in two other EFL Trophy games. With the opportunity to gain experience, the 2024/25 season saw Ed loaned to Yeovil Town and Bath City.
Moving into his fifth full-time season at St James' Park, Ed started against Cheltenham Town in the League Cup in August 2025 before loan spells at Chippenham Town and Torquay United. Returning to City once more, Ed made a return to the first-team for the Easter Monday fixture against Doncaster Rovers when he started a league game for the first time and was voted man of the match.
After putting pen to paper and extending his deal, Ed said: "It's been a tough season for me personally, but the last few months have gone well so I'm really happy to have signed a new deal."
After full league debut against Doncaster Rovers that saw Ed voted player of the match a couple of weeks ago, Ed reflected on the stellar performance with the following: "It couldn't have gone any better really, a clean sheet and a win on my debut - I couldn't have asked for much more so I was buzzing."
Ed featured once more in the squad that drew 2-2 with Plymouth Argyle at Home Park last weekend, a first Devon Derby for the young player. "It was a really exciting day, I've always wanted to play in a Devon Derby like that and the atmosphere was unbelievable. We came away with a point but it could have easily been three."
When looking into his future aims, Ed said: "I'm looking to just stay fit and play as many games as possible and be available week in week out - that's my main goal."
Hear more from Ed below on Grecian+