Jonte Smith could make his League One debut for Crawley Town in the not too distant future.Red Devils’ manager Richie Barker has confirmed that the Bermudian striker will not be loaned out to a Conference club as originally planned.Instead, he said, Smith will remain at Broadfield to continue his development and fight for a place in Crawley’s first team following a prolific loan spell with Ryman League side Metropolitan Police where he banged in 24 goals, including two hat-tricks, in 19 appearances.“Jonte has done really well for Met Police and we did consider loaning him out to a higher-ranked club and there were plenty of those who wanted to take him,” stated Barker on the club’s website. “But we cannot ignore that he has scored 24 goals this season, albeit at a lower level, so he will be staying with us and he will be hoping to keep impressing and get himself involved in the first-team squad."Smith, who is due to travel with the Red Devils for today’s away league clash with Stevenage, intends to make the most of his chance to break into Crawley’s first team.“This is the chance that I’ve been waiting for and have been striving towards for the last three months while I was out on loan and it’s unbelievable to have finally been given the chance,” he said. “The gaffer (Barker) had a talk with me and we talked about how well I’ve been doing recently and he just thinks that I deserve a chance in the first team and basically it’s up to me whether or not I take it.“If I take the chance then it may not be a need for me to go back on loan. But if I’m not performing up to the standard that I should be then they may look to send me out on loan again and keep developing me. I’m travelling with the squad away to Stevenage but it’s unsure whether or not I will be on the bench.”Barker said Smith’s loan spell at Met Police has done wonders for the player’s development.“Playing adult football in a competitive environment has been excellent for Jonte’s development while the goals he has scored for Met Police will have given Jonte a lot of confidence, regardless of the opposition he has been up against,” he said.Smith’s three-month loan spell with Met Police ended on a sombre note last weekend after the Blues slumped to a 1-0 home defeat against Leiston.“I was a bit disappointed we lost in my last match with Met Police as well as me not scoring,” he said. “But I just need to thank them for all they have done for me in the past three months. They helped me improve my game and get better as an overall player, and it’s helped a lot in terms of getting me closer to the first team level that I want to be at.”Smith, 18, signed a one-year contract with Crawley Town last April after hitting 20 goals playing the academy and reserve teams.