....completed the signing of Michael Cheek from league rivals
Dagenham & Redbridge for an undisclosed fee.
The 26-year-old has
been a major force in the National League over the past four years, firing both
Braintree Town and Dagenham to top-five finishes and play-off qualification.
Cheek began his
career in the lower leagues with Stanway Rovers and Heybridge Swifts, getting
his move into the National League South with Chelmsford City in 2013.
He scored 35 goals
for the Clarets across 55 starts in two seasons before making a step into the
National League with Braintree in 2015.
He scored 17 goals
in helping the Iron to the play-offs in his first season and hit a further 25
and eight assists in 2016/17, prompting Dagenham to fight off Football League
interest to land him on a two-year contract last summer.
The goals continued
to flow, with Cheek getting 15 in 29 starts last term.
In total, he has
almost 160 goals to his name since 2011, an average of 22 per season, and he’s
scored 92 goals in the top two tiers of non-League football.
They’re the sort of
stats that have had manager Daryl McMahon waiting patiently to make a move,
with Cheek having been on the Fleet’s radar since the signing of his former
Daggers team-mate Corey Whitely.
Cheek has played a
full part in Dagenham’s pre-season programme, with 3 goals to his name, so
McMahon has zero concerns about his fitness going into the opening match of the
season. |