Player Profile

Signed in January 2023 from Liverpool, Cain joined Town’s surfeit of technically able but not particularly physical midfielders, signing a two and a half year deal. He had previous League Two experience, having spent the previous season on loan at Newport County, whose fans were complimentary about his ability.

Cain’s debut came off the bench at Gillingham, with a full debut following a week later at his old stomping ground of Rodney Parade. He struggled to establish himself in Town’s first team, not helped by the signing of George McEachran on a free transfer - another technically able, possession-focused left footed midfielder to compete with, and the former Chelsea man largely kept Cain out of the side over much of the remainder of the campaign. In the dying embers of the season, Cain had two strong performances against Crewe and Crawley, including a sumptuous first goal from a direct free kick on the final day which came too late for consideration for Town’s goal of the season award but surely would have been a competitor. These bright performances offered hope that Cain’s second season in red and white may be a bit more memorable, particularly when combined with his previous experience playing under Town’s new boss Michael Flynn at Newport.

Unfortunately for Cain, his second season was to prove more of the same as he sat on the fringes of the team and struggled for form and fitness: in pre-season, he played in the number 10 role which was crucial to Michael Flynn’s system, but the signing of Dan Kemp and his phenomenal form meant that Cain was restricted to two league starts in the first half of the season, though he did score in both of those games: the winner against Grimsby towards the end of Town’s superb start to the season, and Town’s second in a 5-3 win over Sutton three weeks earlier. Town’s autumnal downturn in form coincided with a spell out injured for Cain, who made the bench only once in almost three months between October and Christmas as he struggled with a foot injury.

In the January transfer window, Town lost both Kemp and Liam Kinsella, providing more opportunities for Cain across the second half of the season, and whilst he certainly got more game time, his fitness seemed to let him down: it wasn’t until Barrow on 6th April that he completed a full 90 minutes. He remains under contract for the 2024/5 season, which feels like a pivotal one in his career.

Playing Record

Senior

Career details

Club	Details
Liverpool Liverpool	2010 (youth) rptd September 16th, 2019 (signed professional contract); transferred out (January 16th, 2023)
Newport County Newport County	August 31st, 2021 (loan); expired (2021/2)
Swindon Town Swindon	January 16th, 2023 (transferred in, undisclosed fee)