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Magri Coup for Stags

AFC Totton have begun preparations for life in the Pitching In Southern League Premier Division South by strengthening their defensive options with the permanent signing of former England Youth international Sam Magri.

Friday 26 May 23 I 11:33:44	I	Photo by

The 29-year-old makes the short trip from Vanarama National League South side Havant & Waterlooville, where he had been since July 2019 after joining from Ebbsfleet United. He is a Maltese international and has played in big qualifying matches against the likes of England, Scotland, Slovenia and Slovakia during Malta’s 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign and has amassed seven caps for the nation and counting. The Portsmouth-born player has had an outstanding international career up to date. He played in his youth for the England under-16, 17 and 18 squads, playing in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in 2011. In 2015 he acquired a Maltese passport after finding out he was eligible to play for the Mediterranean nation due to his grandfather. He first was called up to the under-21 squad for a fixture against Belgium before playing for the full side. His club career start at Portsmouth, where he flourished as a youth player before signing a contract with the club. In 2012, he had a trial at Liverpool before returning to Pompey. He made his first team debut in August 2012 in a Carling Cup tie away to Plymouth Argyle. He then moved from Fratton Park to Loftus Road to join Queens Park Rangers who were then enjoying life in the Premier League. A lack of game time in the first team saw him sent out to his first and only loan move of his career when he joined Conference Premier side Nuneaton Town in 2014. He was released by the R`s that summer, before signing terms with Crystal Palace, where he stood out and was brought into the under-21 squad, before leaving the club the following summer. He made the move to Dover Athletic where he enjoyed a spell of success. In two years at the Kent club he made 86 appearances, scoring the solitary goal against Barrow in February 2016. He spent one more season at Crabble before departing in 2017 to move across Kent to play for Ebbsfleet, who had just been promoted into the National League. He was dual registered with the Stags` new league rivals Gosport Borough in late October 2022. Manager Jimmy Ball told his club’s website: “Sam wasn’t particularly in my thoughts because I didn’t know that Havant & Waterlooville were about to let him go. But as soon as I heard he was available, I got involved because I know what a quality player he is and I’m chuffed to bits to have completed this deal relatively quickly,” said the treble-winning AFC Totton Manager. “He missed a spell through injury last season but he’s a very dependable and versatile defender who can do an excellent job in a variety of positions. He has the kind of mentality that we’re looking for, with many of the same qualities as those players who joined us last season; calmness under pressure, the ability to pass the ball, to read the game very well and to get himself into the right positions at the right time. He’s a big personality on the pitch, another leader of men with a lot of footballing knowhow. “We built a team last season that could control games most of the time, but could still go after games when we needed to. We were rarely ever beaten, fighting tooth and nail right to the last whistle for every point, and Sam is another player who fits into that mould. Bringing him in adds that extra bit of quality and strength of character we’re going to need, playing at a higher level next season”.

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