Poole Town have signed fan favourite Steve Devlin, with the Irish midfielder joining from Wessex Premier Hamworthy United.
A lynchpin of the Poole sides that won promotion from both the Southern Premier and Southern League Division One South & West, Devlin brings a wealth of experience and quality to a Dolphins side hampered by injury.
The move suffered delays due to paperwork delays but Devlin is now registered with the Southern League and available for Dolphins’ trip to Taunton Town.
Chairman Chris Reeves stated: “After a few days of resolving the formalities of registration we are delighted to confirm that today we have concluded the signing of Steve Devlin for his second spell with the Club.
“First signed in January 2012 from Dorchester for a respectable four figure fee “Devs” notched up 310 appearances in our colours scoring an impressive 95 times and established himself as one of our all time favourite sons.
“He returns having recovered from a cruciate ligament operation and we are just delighted to have him back. His return will give a big boost to the rest of the players and to supporters alike.”
Speaking about the acquistion of a former star, Tom Killick told All Poole Aren’t We: “With Corby injured, the importance of getting more cover in that position was enhanced.
“It’s a long-term thing – when I say long-term, we’re hoping to have him until the end of the season.
“He knows that he has got his work cut-out to get into the side, because it is probably an area on the pitch where we are quite strong. I thought against Chesham Dan Bartlett and Josh Carmichael were very, very good against very good opponents.
“There’s two elements to football – there’s ability and then there’s character. Devs is not short in either department. I’m sure he will be a good influence, in terms of his personality and his determination to win.”
Devlin initially signed for an undisclosed fee from Dorchester Town in 2012, remaining near ever present until an injury suffered against Salisbury in 2018 ruled him out for nearly 18 months.
He returned to football with Hamworthy in December 2020, going onto make 21 appearances for the Hammers.
Devlin has scored 95 goals for Poole, and will hope to become the latest Dolphin to hit the century mark since Karim Benassouda.
He is set to add to his 310 Poole appearances this weekend against Taunton Town.
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