Young Talent Kaya Signs After Impressive Summer
After an impressive summer on trial, Kaya Hansson has been added to the squad by manager Hakan Hayrettin.
The duo know each other extremely well, as Kaya is Hakan's son, and the 17-year-old joins having been with Bromley last season.
Kaya appeared in eight of our nine pre-season games, mainly playing behind the front three, and arrives following a successful season for the Bromley Whites U19s. Last season, he played in 19 of their 24 games in Division E of the National League U19s Alliance, scoring five goals.
Prior to going Bromley, Kaya was with Cheshunt, and as a 15-year-old was invited to train with the Maidstone United first team whilst Hakan was manager there.
"I'm pleased to be part of the squad," said Kaya, "it's been exciting training with everyone this summer and I'm always learning."
"I'm looking forward to the opportunity to play men's football and improve on my game. The boys have been very welcoming and have given me lots of advice and tried to help me out, they are all good guys."
"Being young, it will be a challenge to break into the starting XI but I can only get better by training with them. I can play either as an attacking midfielder or out wide, looking to create chances as much as I can for the team."
"I have seen what the fans are like and they give loud support, even in pre-season they have been unreal and I can't wait to play in front of them this season."
"Knowing him on a personal level, I always knew he had the ability," added Hakan, "but it was seeing if he could make that transition from academy to senior football."
"In the games this summer, he's done really well, and he deserves a chance. He worked hard in the academy at Bromley and he hasn't looked out of place with us. We will utilise him when we need him, he's a great kid, he's bright, he's got enthusiasm and love for the game with good feet, but most importantly, again he wants to be here."
"I'm sure he will be an asset, and at 17, he will only get better, the future is bright for him. If we play a 4-3-3 this season, he can play behind the attackers or anywhere across the front three."
Jack Ruddy to Remain at Hamlet
The Hamlet have secured their second goalkeeper of the summer in the form of Jack Ruddy.
Jack has been on trial with us throughout the summer, appearing in seven of our eight fixtures, and has impressed both fans and staff alike. One notable highlight was his penalty save and performance in the first half at Aveley.
The 25-year-old Scot has represented his country at multiple age groups, earning a bronze medal with the Under-20s at the 2017 Toulon Tournament, along with another former Hamlet man in Ruben Sammut.
Jack grew up in the Rangers academy under Andy Goram, before moving to Spain to Real Murcia. He would return to England and made his senior career debut for Bury in League One in November 2015.
A move to Wolverhampton Wanderers followed, going out on loan to several clubs during his time there, including to Ayr United, where he won the Scottish League One title in 2018.
Since leaving Wolves in 2019, Jack has also been on the books of Ross County, Leganés B, Plymouth Argyle, Linfield, Darvel, East Kilbride and most recently Cowdenbeath, before moving to London this summer.
Jack was recommended to the Hamlet by Jim Stannard, the former Fulham, Southend United and Gillingham shot-stopper.
"I'm really excited to be part of Dulwich Hamlet," said Jack. "Since I've arrived I've been made to feel extremely welcome and now I'm looking forward to get started properly in competitive football."
"This opportunity came through having contact with Jim Stannard, who knows Hakan and Terry and he kindly passed me on to them as a recommendation. From there we chatted and it grew arms and legs and I was able to come down for pre-season."
"The players, staff and club officials have all welcomed me from day one, and working with Alex (goalkeeping coach) and R'avan has been great fun."
"I think I'm pretty experienced and try to be a leader on the pitch, as well as the standard goalkeeping bits and pieces like shot-stopping, but I want to be able to use my experience of different levels of football to help. Playing all around the UK and in Europe have opened my eyes to different ways of learning and training and improved my knowledge."
"Jack was someone we had chased for a little while before pre-season began." added Hakan.
"He's got good pedigree, has experience of playing in this country and abroad, and we are very happy to have someone here who has played at many age levels for his country, and have someone highly recommended to us by such a good keeper as Jim Stannard was."
"He has done very well in pre-season and worked hard in sessions with the goalkeeping coach and with the squad as a whole."
Miquel Scarlett Returns To The Hamlet
The Hamlet have almost completed their summer rebuild by bringing back defender Miquel Scarlett.
He has appeared in two pre-season games on the right side of defence, playing the first hour of our win at Welling, before coming on as a substitute against Erith & Belvedere.
Miquel had a very short spell with us during the opening stages of the 2021-22 season, appearing in three matchday squads, however was an used substitute in each of them, against Hungerford Town in the league, Bedfont Sports in the FA Cup, and AFC Croydon Athletic in the London Senior Cup.
However, his time with us was hampered with trying to regain fitness from tendonitis, and he would miss the majority of the 21-22 season, playing a handful of games towards the end of the season for Cobham as he regained fitness.
Last summer, the 22-year-old signed for Eastbourne Borough, for whom he played 28 times in the National League South in what was a breakthrough season in his career. He scored his only league goal in a 2-2 draw with Chelmsford City in March.
Prior to joining the Hamlet in his first spell, Miquel had also been on the books of Gillingham, Colchester United and West Ham United. Miquel also has four caps for the Guyana national side, making four appearances in World Cup qualifiers in 2021, playing alongside ex-Hamlet man Kadell Daniel in two of those matches.
"I'm glad to be back," said Miquel, "when the opportunity arose back in the summer, it was something that I thought about, and even though the side were relegated last season, it's a great team and Hak is building something good for promotion hopefully, which is the aim for everyone in the changing room."
"It's a big thing for me to be able to play in front of so many fans, I hope they enjoy watching me play and think I bring something to the team. I played here last year with Eastbourne and just thought, 'wow', they're brilliant."
"I like to think I'm a fast player but with a footballing brain, I like to play football but can also mix it up and be aggressive for my height as well."
"From the first session everyone welcomed me, I've played with Elliott Romain at Eastbourne and I went to school with Jerry Gyebi so it's been brilliant, and I have nothing but good words for the management staff, they've been promoted before, know what they're talking about and are determined to do it again at Dulwich."
"Miquel had a really great year at Eastbourne last year at Step 2." added Terry Harris. "He has got his head down since arriving here and worked hard, taken on the advice that Hak has given him, and we think he will be a good member of this squad."
"He brings good pace and energy to the defence and will support attacks down the right side, which he showed at Welling in the first half, but he will also always be up for a scrap too in the defensive areas of the pitch."
Welcome back Miquel!
