[themaclad]

Forest Green Rovers have signed defender Darnell Johnson on a permanent deal and midfielder Dylan Kadji on a season-long loan.

Johnson had been on trial with the club this summer and scored in their pre-season win over West Bromwich Albion.

The 24-year-old was released by Fleetwood Town in this summer after two seasons where he made four appearances.

Johnson, whose godfather is former England striker Emile Heskey, began his career in Leicester's academy.

Teenager Kadji is a product of Bristol City's academy and scored on his debut for the club last August in the Carabao Cup.

The 19-year-old went on to make four first-team appearances for the club last season, with two of them coming from the bench in the Championship.

He joined Swindon on loan in January and played 13 times for the Robins in League Two.

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Forest Green Rovers have signed midfielder Jacob Maddox following his departure from Walsall.

The 24-year-old scored two goals in 32 appearances in all competitions for the Saddlers last season after joining them in September.

A former Chelsea trainee, Maddox has previously had spells at Cheltenham, Portuguese side Vitoria Guimaraes and Burton Albion.

The League Two club have not disclosed the length of his contract.

"Jacob will bring us something a little bit different," Rovers head coach David Horseman told the club website.

"He's a good dribbler, he can carry the ball and he's good at counter-pressing."

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Forest Green Rovers have signed Alfie Bendle from fellow League Two club AFC Wimbledon on a free transfer.

The 18-year-old midfielder made a total of 17 first-team appearances for the Dons after making his senior debut on the final day of the 2021-22 campaign.

"Alfie is a very talented technical player and he also puts himself about," Rovers boss David Horseman said.

"He can play anywhere across the midfield and we hope he'll be a big player in the future."

AFC Wimbledon have a sell-on clause as part of the deal, while Forest Green have not disclosed the length of Bendle's contract at the Bolt New Lawn.

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League Two club Forest Green Rovers have signed Everton centre-back Reece Welch on a season-long loan deal.

The 19-year-old has made two senior appearances for the Premier League side, and has also featured for the Toffees in the EFL Trophy.

"Reece is a really physical centre-back with good mobility," head coach David Horseman told the club website.

"He arrives with good pedigree, and he's highly rated at Everton. He will help us a lot this season."

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Forest Green Rovers have signed former Birmingham City and Watford captain Troy Deeney in a player-coach role.

The 35-year-old left St Andrew's at the end of last season after joining his hometown club in 2021.

The striker previously spent more than a decade with Watford and was part of the squads which won promotion to the Premier League in 2014-15 and 2020-21.

Deeney is good friends with new Forest Green head coach David Horseman, who previously worked in Watford's academy.

"You always get offers and things that are of interest, but the biggest thing for me is what the next 10 years look like, not the next 10 months," Deeney told BBC Radio Gloucestershire.

"I've known David a long time and you can see what the project looks like, with the new training ground and what the new stadium will eventually look like. It is about buying into that.

"There is a lot of homework for me to catch up on from a coaching side, but I'm very, very excited about it."

Deeney, who holds a Uefa A coaching licence, was at the Bolt New Lawn on Tuesday evening to watch the League Two side's 2-1 defeat by west country rivals Swindon.

"On Tuesday nothing was agreed, so we just moved quickly," he said. "It is about feeling wanted and feeling that I can add value. There is no point in me coming in here at 35 and adding nothing."

Deeney began his career in the West Midlands with Halesowen and Walsall before moving to Watford in 2010. He made 419 appearances for the Hornets, scoring 140 goals, before signing for Birmingham two years ago.

He was offered a new deal there in March but spoke about wanting to move into coaching if it was the "right project".

The length of his contract with Rovers has not been disclosed.

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Forest Green Rovers have signed midfielder Nathan Holland for an undisclosed fee from MK Dons.

The 25-year-old has made 37 appearances for the League Two side since joining them last summer.

He began his career in Everton's academy before joining West Ham's youth team in 2017.

He played four times for the Hammers and has also spent time on loan at Oxford United.

Holland said: "I'm a direct player, I like to take risks on the ball and hopefully I'll get lots of goals and assists."

Rovers boss David Horseman added: "Nathan is a good one for us because he's very talented and can create chances out of nothing.

"He's got lots of potential and I think he's somebody who can win us games."

[themaclad]

League Two club Forest Green Rovers have signed former Coventry City full-back Fankaty Dabo.

The 27-year-old made 131 appearances for the Sky Blues over the course of a four-year spell before leaving the Championship club earlier this summer.

He came through Chelsea's youth ranks and had stints on loan at Swindon Town, Vitesse Arnhem and Sparta Rotterdam during his time with the Blues.

Callum Morton has also joined on a season-long loan from Salford City.

The 23-year-old former West Brom man has had spells at Fleetwood, Lincoln and Peterborough, plus a successful loan at Northampton.

[themaclad]

Forest Green Rovers have signed goalkeeper James Belshaw from Bristol Rovers on a seven-day emergency loan deal.

Forest Green's first-choice keeper Luke Daniels picked up an injury during the 4-3 loss to Notts County last week.

Belshaw could feature in the home game against Morecambe on Saturday.

The 32-year-old has made 89 appearances for the Gas since joining in 2021 and was voted player of the year when they won promotion in the 2021-22 season.

But he has fallen out of favour with manager Joey Barton and not played this term. In August, Barton said Belshaw was "not part of his plans" going forward after asking for a loan move away.

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Forest Green Rovers winger Kyle McAllister has extended his stay with the League Two club.

The ex-St Mirren, Derby County and Partick Thistle player, 24, who moved to Nailsworth in June 2022, has signed a new, undisclosed-length contract.

McAllister has scored five goals in 58 first team appearances for Rovers - but four of those have come in their last six league and cup games.

"He's improved a lot," said Rovers head coach David Horseman.

"He's taken on board lots of new information. I believe Kyle has been one of the best players in League Two this year. He's a top professional and a great lad to have around. "

"Since the new gaffer has been in, I've wanted to get a new deal sorted," said McAllister. "The gaffer has helped me a lot this year, he's shown real belief in me and I love the football we're trying to play."

Forest Green are 23rd in the table, two points adrift of safety, but have only lost twice in their last eight League Two and FA Cup matches.

[themaclad]

Forest Green have signed midfielder Alex Rodriguez Gorrin on a permanent deal, and winger Dominic Thompson and goalkeeper Tommy Simkin on loan.

Gorrin joins until the end of the season following the end of his contract at Oxford United.

The 30-year-old spent time on trial with Rovers in September before rejoining the U's on a short-term deal.

The Spaniard was, however, limited to only four appearances for the League One side this campaign.

Left-sided Thompson, who can play in defence or on the wing, joins from League One side Blackpool.

The former Brentford player, 23, joined the Tangerines in 2022 and has played 42 times since, with 12 games this season.

Stoke academy player Simkin made his first-team debut for the Potters in December's Championship defeat by Sheffield Wednesday.

The 19-year-old has spent time on loan at National League side Solihull Moors this campaign and also represented England Under-18s.

Gorrin previously played more than 100 games for Oxford but tore his anterior cruciate ligament in 2021.

"I saw in that time [his trial] what he could do, not necessarily with the ball but more for what he does around the place," Forest Green manager Troy Deeney told BBC Radio Gloucestershire.

"While he'll add value in the short-term of playing and getting his career back on track, he'll be adding quality to the group.

"He's also got a role in terms of mentorship and explaining and talking to those guys day-to-day, and what it's like to be a top professional
Deeney added to the club website: "We are really, really lucky to have Dom. He's Championship quality.

"He's shown a real desire and commitment to come here as he had offers from League One clubs and Scottish Premiership sides."