Folkestone Invicta boss Neil Cugley brings Ade Yusuff back to Cheriton Road while Margate sign striker Dan Thompson

FOLKESTONE INVICTA manager Neil Cugley has pulled off a summer transfer coup by enticing striker Ade Yusuff back to Cheriton Road.

 

The 26-year-old scored an impressive 51 goals in 102 games while playing for the club between 2017-2019, having joined from Essex outfit Heybridge Swifts.

He moved on to Vanarama National League South side Dulwich Hamlet in the summer 2019 and made 19 appearances for Gavin Rose’s side, before leaving Champion Hill to play for Tonbridge Angels and Braintree Town.

Yusuff scored six goals in four games for Isthmian League South East Division side Cray Valley (Paper Mills), helping Kevin Watson’s side reach the FA Cup First Round for the firsts time in their history.

“The project that was sold to me was very good so I’m definitely glad to be back,” Yusuff told Folkestone Invicta’s website.

“It’s not the club I left.  The club’s done well since I’ve been away. It’s about sustaining that.  This is my home, spiritual footballing home.  I scored a lot of goals here, became happy playing football again here.

“The club done well for me and I done well for the club and I’m glad to be back.”

Cugley added: “He’s a player I’ve always rated. He was leading goalscorer for two years and he’s still in his mid-20s.

“I never blamed him for going to Dulwich and going full-time. I think him and Dave Smith up top, it could well be those two, they’ll be a handful for anybody.”

Meanwhile, Margate manager Jay Saunders has unveiled the signing of former East Grinstead Town striker Dan Thompson, 27.

Thompson started his career at Hampton & Richmond Borough, making his debut at just 16 years old. He scored his first career goal three days later, against Woking. Thompson went on to sign a one-year scholarship with Portsmouth, where he appeared for the senior side, as well as enjoy loan spells at clubs including Havant and Waterlooville and Bognor Regis Town.

Thompson returned to Hampton and Richmond Borough and was part of the squad that won the Isthmian League in 2015/16. After a short spell at Burgess Hill Town, Thompson then signed for Tonbridge Angels.

Thompson was involved in another promotion-winning Isthmian League side, Braintree Town and helped take them to the National League before signing for Dulwich Hamlet in December 2018.

In June 2019, Thompson joined Kingstonian and then moved to East Grinstead Town where he made five appearances before the 2019–20 season was cut short.

Saunders told Margate’s website:  “I’m delighted to welcome Dan to the club. He’s a great addition and fits the mould of the kind of striker I want in our team. Dan’s a player I feel we can get the best out of and can enjoy a really successful career at Hartsdown Park.

"Dan has plenty of experience winning promotion, not just at our level but the level above and that will be vital for us."