Football club Barry Town United's vice-captain has been jailed for two and a half years for dealing cocaine. Evan Press, a 24-year-old midfielder, has played every game this season for the Cymru Premier side, who were "shocked" to learn of the case on Wednesday shortly after he was sentenced, WalesOnline can reveal. When we approached Barry Town about the case a club spokesman said: "Being brutally honest we only heard about this on the day he was sentenced. He had never told us. We were unaware until half an hour after the sentencing on March 19 when we were contacted by a family member." The Newport County academy product has featured for Barry in all three matches since the February 11 court appearance where he pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of Class A drug cocaine between February 2021 and November 2023 in Cardiff. He has captained the team in 19 of his 33 matches this season and most recently featured against Aberystwyth on March 11, leading the side to a 2-1 home win as he played the full 90 minutes. The club spokesman said: "Since the sentencing we've heard bits about the case but we don't have all the information. We have been processing the news. It is a real shock. Evan is a wonderful young man. He's been part of our club for seven years. He has made a mistake and my understanding is it happened some time ago. We are a family club who want our players to be role models. This was news to us." The semi-professional footballer, of Railway Street in Splott, is valued at around £42,000 by Transfermarkt. He has played 187 matches and scored 11 goals for Barry since joining in 2018. His contract will expire at the end of this season and the club told us there are no financial implications to consider from Press' imprisonment as he is only paid when he plays. Asked about the challenge of replacing Press the club spokesman said on Friday: "We are out of a transfer window. The boys are playing tomorrow [away to Flint Town United] and they'll carry on as normal. It is what it is. The reality is when a player leaves our care we can't control what they do outside of football." When we asked about the timing of the blow they replied: "We're just coming close to European play-offs but in reality the timing of the season is irrelevant. We didn't want this and we can't control it sadly." Press was sentenced at Newport Crown Court to two years and six months in jail and ordered to pay a £190 victim services surcharge. An iPhone he used for drug-dealing will be destroyed. His only senior appearance outside his Barry Town career came for Newport County in 2017 when he played a full EFL Trophy match as the Exiles lost 2-1 to Cheltenham.