Ebbsfleet United boss Daryl McMahon lands Ebou Adams from Norwich City: He reminds me of someone like a young Paul Ince

EBBSFLEET UNITED manager Daryl McMahon has signed midfielder Ebou Adams from Sky Bet Championship side Norwich City.

McMahon pipped his former club Leyton Orient to the signature the former Dartford player.

“He’s box-to-box, powerful, good on the ball. He reminds me of someone like a young Paul Ince,” McMahon told www.ebbsfleetunited.co.uk.

“He’s young, he’s hungry, he can do both sides of the game. He can play, he can run and I think he’s got huge, huge potential as well.

“I’ve come up against him in my earlier days at Ebbsfleet, I noticed him then and then he played against us in the game at Dartford up against Stuart Lewis and Dean Rance. That was his debut, up against them two and he gave a very good performance in that.

“I’ve kept an eye on him since then and he’s gone on to Norwich and Leyton Orient where he had a fantastic end to the season there. We’re excited to have him and he’ll be a big player for us.”

Adams was a wanted man following his release by Norwich City, and having played 16 games on loan for Leyton Orient in the Vanarama National League, the O’s were also keen to add him to their squad for next season.

McMahon said: “He likes what he’s seen.  He thinks we’re progressive as a club. He’s coming to us because he’s looked at our squad and how we performed last season. When you’re looking at that age group, we’ve got Magri, Coulson, Powell, McQueen, and now Ebou, all at that 22/23/24 age bracket. They’re good ages, they’re hungry to get on but they’re not raw or inexperienced either.

“That was a big thing when I took over three years ago and right through to now, I’ve always felt that we needed to have the bulk of our squad around that age. They’re starting out their careers but they’re not beginners or they’re maybe looking to kick-start their careers if they’ve had to come out of the Football League and looking to go again.

“Ebou falls into that category and we’ve got a nice little blend at really good ages in this squad, really competitive players that want to kick on. Even though they’re young players, they have plenty of games behind them and then you align that enthusiasm with the really quality experience of the likes of Drury, Winfield and Kedwell and that’s a well-shaped squad.”

McMahon added:  We’ll be trying to get a couple signed as soon as we can. We’ve had the conversations and now it’s about closing the deals and then finally I can relax properly!”

The Fleet finished in the top six in the Vanarama National League last season after collecting 74 points from their 46 games.

After beating Aldershot Town 5-4 on penalties after the away game finished 1-1 after extra-time, Tranmere Rovers beat them 4-2 at Prenton Park in the Play-Off Semi-Final.

Tranmere Rovers went on to beat Boreham Wood 2-1 at Wembley Stadium in the Promotion Final to join league champions Macclesfield Town in Sky Bet League Two next season.

McMahon has released left-back Jack Connors, winger Anthony Cook and full-back Marvin McCoy.

Visit Ebbsfleet United’s website: www.ebbsfleetunited.co.uk