The Dons have made it a quick double with the addition of Crawley Town winger James Tilley on a two-year contract, for an undisclosed fee.
Capable of playing in a number of attacking positions, the 25-year-old was regularly involved for the Red Devils last season, racking up 38 appearances and five goals across all competitions.
Born in Billingshurst, West Sussex, James began his football career in Brighton & Hove Albion’s youth academy before going on to make his professional debut in May 2015 against Middlesbrough. Our new addition then went on to notch his first senior goal against Barnet in the EFL Cup.
He was also loaned to League of Ireland side Cork City for six months in 2019, offering a chance for further progress and development outside of his comfort zone. There was also another temporary spell with Yeovil Town, which eventually paved the way for his permanent departure from the south coast.
Ian Holloway’s Grimsby Town handed the attacker an 18-month contract at Blundell Park, however he departed after a year to make the move back south to Crawley. He would go on to make 89 appearances over the course of a three-year spell at the club, significantly building up his Football League experience.
Now, James is looking forward to kickstarting his new chapter at the Cherry Red Records Stadium: “I’m very excited to get going after speaking to the Club for a little while. The stadium is really nice, I’ve played here a couple of times before – I’m looking forward to playing in front of our fans.
“I can play anywhere across the frontline. Behind the striker, out on the wing, or in attacking midfield. It was great to get back into it with the boys today. The manager is ambitious and knows where he wants to take the Club – everyone wants to get promoted.”
Speaking about the signing, Johnnie Jackson said: “He’s a really good age and fits the profile of player that we’ve been looking at. He’s hungry to kick on and progress with us. He possesses valuable experience at the level and is someone that we came up against last season.
“I was impressed by what I saw. He has a lovely left foot and is technically very good. He wants to get at people, create and score goals. It’ll give us what we need in the final third.”
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