Bangor City have announced the signing of Alex Darlington from The New Saints whilst James Demetriou has left the club to join Barry Town.
Darlington signs on a one and a half-year contract having been out of contract at rivals The New Saints. The 29-year-old had been at the Oswestry club for nine and a half seasons.
Darlington arrives at Nantporth having made 234 appearances for The New Saints, scoring 94 goals and says he feels the time was right to move on.
“My time at TNS has been memorable, I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve really enjoyed my time here.” he told The New Saints website upon his departure. “But I’ve just turned 29 and I felt it was time to move on and I’m looking forward to playing at Bangor City he added”.
Darlington amassed seven Welsh Premier League titles as well as four Welsh Cups at The New Saints after joining from Wrexham. He will wear the number 8 shirt at Bangor.
In a busy day for the Citizens, Barry Town have completed the signing of Australian-Cypriot striker James Demetriou.
Demetriou, 22, returns to south Wales with Barry Town ending a three-month spell with Bangor.
Demetriou, who was previously with Swansea City, made 4 (7) league appearances for Bangor, scoring his only goal on his debut in a 1-0 win against Bala Town.
“I’m extremely excited to be working with James, I think we will be a good fit for each other and I have no doubt he will enjoy being a Barry Town player”, commented manager Gavin Chesterfield.
ANALYSIS – BANGOR LAND A RARE BLOW ON TNS
It’s been some time since Bangor City can claim to have had the upper hand over The New Saints. Not since Bangor’s fabulous 5-2 win on the opening day of the season have City had an advantage over the Saints, but it would appear that they have landed a blow on their rivals by capturing gifted Alex Darlington in what has so far been the biggest transfer between two WPL clubs in the January window.
Darlington rates as one of the top players in the league in my view and if it were not for injuries which have continually haunted his career, he would’ve had far more than the 234 WPL appearances he actually gained at The New Saints. When fit and available for selection, Darlington can consider himself hard done by to have not earned more starts in the Saints line-up but up against the likes of Aeron Edwards and Ryan Brobbel, competition for that ‘number 10′ role has always been stiff and at any other club he would’ve been one of the first, if not the first, name on the team sheet.
Now 29, Darlington has the opportunity to play a stretch of games and make a real impact in the league. It’s unlikely that he has been brought into Bangor City to add depth to the squad and it’s also unlikely The New Saints would’ve been willing for him to leave – providing he can stay fit, he could easily be the difference between Bangor qualifying for Europe or not.
Darlington will still face competition for his place at Bangor City; Gary Taylor-Fletcher, Brayden Shaw, Dean Rittenberg and fellow newcomer Yves Zama will all be in contention for attacking places in the Bangor line-up but Darlington has the craft, vision and experience to be a clutch player for the Citizens. Just recently Darlington demonstrated his versatility to play as a centre-forward in The New Saints’ recent League Cup victory but his true ability is best utilised when he can hurt teams in a traditional attacking midfield role.
It’s incredible to think that a player who has won seven league titles still has a point to make but Alex Darlington’s ability still doesn’t quite get him the plaudits he deserves, until now perhaps.
WPL TRANSFER WIRE (closes Wednesday midnight)
Alex Darlington, The New Saints > Bangor City … Danny Taylor, Llandudno > Free Agent … James Demetriou, Bangor City > Barry Town … Mark Jones, Afan Lido > Carmarthen Town … Kyle Parle, Cefn Druids > Saltney Town … Alun Morris, Oswestry Town > Cefn Druids … Rob Hughes, Free Agent > Connah’s Quay … Luke Bowen, Port Talbot Town > Carmarthen Town … Yves Sama, Free Agent > Bangor City … Joel Bembo-Leta, Free Agent > Bangor City … Stuart Cook, Cefn Druids > Free Agent … Robbie Parry, The New Saints > Llandudno (loan) … Jonny Spittle, out of contract > Connah’s Quay … Kieran Smith, out of contract > Bala Town … John McKenna, Aberystwyth Town > Free Agent … Jonny Spittle, Aberystwyth Town > out of contract … Damien Allen, Bangor City > Aberystwyth Town … Adam Walters, Aberystwyth University > Aberystwyth Town … Rob Pearson, out of contract > Bala Town … Tyler Brock, Carmarthen Town > Skewen Athletic … Matthew Thomas, Carmarthen Town > Risca United … Kyle Williams, Carmarthen Town > Taffs Well … Matthew Hall, Carmarthen Town > Ton Pentre … James Murphy, Newtown > Free Agent …