Elgin City manager Allan Hale expects a busy month of recruitment – having made Cove Rangers’ Dayshonne Golding his second signing.
Hale is overseeing his first transfer window since taking charge of the Black and Whites at the beginning of last month.
The former Huntly boss raided his old club to make his first addition on Thursday – drafting in full-back Lyall Booth on a two-and-a-half-year deal.
This was followed on Friday by the news Cove attacker Golding has made the temporary switch to Borough Briggs, joining on loan for the rest of the campaign.
The forward, 26, helped Banks o’ Dee put themselves in the Breedon Highland League title mix on loan in the first half of the season.
SIGNING NEWS ✍🏼
Elgin City are delighted to announce the signing of Dayshonne Golding from Cove Rangers on loan for the remainder of the season.
Dayshonne is a 26 year old attacker who will add a new dimension to our forward line.
Welcome to the club Dayshonne ⚫️⚪️ pic.twitter.com/ov1fD6QLpP
— Elgin City F.C. (@ElginCityFC) January 5, 2024
Hale secured his first victory as Elgin boss last weekend, courtesy of an impressive 2-1 triumph over second-placed Peterhead.
He says his recruitment efforts are fully up and running, as City aim to make it back-to-back League Two home wins against the Blues this weekend.
He said: “We are working very hard. We are not just shoehorning ourselves into three or four targets – we have a long list of targets.
“I’m trying to make sure we get every eventuality covered.
“We are working very hard in the background, a lot of phonecalls are being made, with long hours and long days going into see what players are available and what we can do to bring them in.”
Ross County loanee Wright departs
Ewan is one of two players now on loan at Elgin from the Staggies, along with Ryan MacLeman, while forward Matthew Wright has returned to his parent club after an illness-disrupted Borough Briggs spell.
⚫️⚪️ SQUAD UPDATE ⚫️⚪️ pic.twitter.com/tCNPqic8LD
— Elgin City F.C. (@ElginCityFC) January 5, 2024
Blair McKenzie and Liam Harvey remain on loan at Elgin from Aberdeen.
Speaking before the departure of County youngster Wright and Golding’s arrival was confirmed, Hale had revealed Elgin were weighing up whether to rejig their loan contingent, saying: “We may need to free up a loan space or two to bring targets in, because we are only allowed a maximum of five.
“There are conversations taking place with the relevant clubs with regards to that, and we will see what transpires.
“We just need to look at every avenue in terms of what we need from a recruitment perspective, and try to adjust the current group accordingly to make way for bringing players in – as every manager will be doing at this stage.”
County loan defender Ewan a valuable part of Elgin side
Hale says tying down 17-year-old Ewan, who has made 19 appearances and netted twice for the Black and Whites, was an important piece of business.
The Elgin boss added: “He is so composed and calm for someone who is so young, and he plays like he’s older in many ways.
“Connall ticks a lot of the boxes in terms of what we want from our centre backs. He’s quick, aggressive and good in the air.
“He is also comfortable with the ball at his feet, and he can step into midfield and start our build up from there. He is capable of playing out.
“Connall has done very well for us. He’s obviously still got development to do, but he has shown to me in the time we have been at the club that he’s more than capable.
“He has a fantastic attitude – he’s a great boy who carries himself really professionally.”
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