Tonbridge Angels is delighted to welcome to the Yeomans Community Stadium, Longmead, box-to-box central midfielder Harry Gardner.
The 25-year-old joins Angels from Hampton and Richmond Borough.
Gardner started his youth career at Exeter City before going to Spain for a year and, from there, playing university football in the United States for five years, playing for Walsh University and Palm Beach Atlantic University.
Gardner told Angels Media: “I met Dunney and Tommy (McAvoy) and thought they were both top guys. As well as that, what really appealed to me is that Angels feels like a club on the up and that’s something I want to be part of. There’s a great set-up here and I noticed when I came here last season there was a really good atmosphere.
“I can bring a lot of energy to the side and will work hard all the time. I want to get on the ball as much as I can, drive forward and cause problems for the opposition as well as scoring a few goals too.”
Gardner’s interesting route to Angels has benefited him in a number of ways: “I’ve taken different things from different places,” he said. “In Spain, everything was very tight and technical, one-two-touch football and that really helped with my technical ability.
“The States was a bit more physical, and there were a lot more athletes there. That period really made me grow up both as a person and a footballer.”
Returning home, Gardner spent some time at Taunton Town before making the move to Hampton and Richmond where he played with and got to know Bunmi Babajide.
Angels boss Alan Dunne said: “We’ve been following Harry for a while and we’re excited to finally get him. He had a really good season last year. He’s an exciting, forward-thinking midfielder who wants to create chances and also score himself. He’s got good delivery and I think he’ll be a real asset for us.”
