Striker added to bolster options in attack

We are pleased to announce the signing of 25-year-old striker Ibrahim "Ibby" Akanbi.

Akanbi will add further competition in attack to the likes of Danny Mills, Dan Smith, Jayden Clarke and George Porter, and will be available for the trip to Tonbridge Angels this afternoon. He will wear the number 17 jersey.

Ibby has most recently played for Dagenham & Redbridge, having joined the Daggers in October 2021 on loan from fellow National League outfit Aldershot Town, before making the move permanent in December. However, he found game time hard to come by at Victoria Road, making just three starts, all before the new year, making just another six appearances from the bench. He scored twice for the Daggers in the league, in wins away to Maidenhead United and at home to Grimsby Town.

Akanbi had signed for Aldershot last summer following a successful period with Maidstone United during the two Covid-hit seasons. During his time with the Stones, he netted 11 times in 36 games during the 2019-20 campaign, and made a further four appearances the following season before it was curtailed.

Prior to his spell at Maidstone, Akanbi played for the likes of Three Bridges, Whitehawk, where he was a teammate of Mills and Whyteleafe after coming through the academy at Crystal Palace. He has also tasted international success, having represented England Universities Sport in the 2019 Home Nations tournament, which England won, playing alongside future Stones teammate and former Hamlet man Saidou Khan.

The forward has history against the Hamlet, having scored the only goal of the game late on when we met Maidstone at Champion Hill in September 2019, and also netted in the reverse fixture at the Gallagher Stadium that December when we lost 4-1.