SQUAD UPDATE

By Deal Town

Although it may have seemed like a quiet time at the football club over the last couple of weeks there has been plenty of work going on behind the scenes as we prepare for the new season. Having met with all of last year’s squad we are pleased to announce that the following players have agreed to sign for the club for the 2022/23 season as we look to build on last year’s successful season. Kane Smith John Brayne Ben Cardwell Ben Chapman Tom Chapman Connor Coyne Alfie Foster Liam Hark Billy Munday Macauley Murray Max Niblett Jack Penny Joe Reeves Rene Rivera Lee Scott Alex Smith We will be saying goodbye to a few players who are James Tonkin, Jack Paxman, Sammy Gibson, Troy Howard and Sam Wilson. Unfortunately, James, Sammy and Jack have been unable to commit due to work and personal reasons but leave with our greatest thanks for their efforts at the club. Tonks and Pax especially have played a key role in the development of the club and have both achieved well over 150 appearances each. Sam Wilson has been struggling with an ongoing knee injury, which has limited his involvement since February and has now decided to retire from this level of football. Troy has been offered an exciting opportunity to join Margate FC in the Isthmian Premier Division and goes with the club’s best wishes. Commenting on the squad update Steve King said ‘It is always disappointing to lose any players as we are such a close group but we fully understand that players have lives away from football which means they are not always able to commit fully at this level. All of the boys who are leaving us have been brilliant servants to the club and will always be welcome back when they are available. The only player who has currently left us to join another club is Troy who has earnt his chance two levels higher. I am proud to see someone who we have worked with from the age of 14 in the youth set-up get the chance at a higher level based on his performances last season. The great news is that we have managed to maintain the vast majority of the squad and have a great base to build from. We are pleased with how the squad is looking and are talking to a number of exciting additions. We may lose a couple of players during the season due to educational studies but we will be starting with a strong base when we return for pre-season. It takes time to bring players in at this stage of the year and it is important that we are patient but I am confident we will some exciting names joining us before the start of the season. We also have a number of trialists who have caught our eye and will be joining us for pre-season.’

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