Ashford United assistant manager Tommy Osborne says top scorer Vance Bola’s decision to leave Homelands came out of the blue

Ashford are assessing their striking options following top scorer Vance Bola’s shock departure.

Eleven-goal Bola has joined Herne Bay after telling manager Kevin Watson he wanted to leave.

That came a couple of weeks ago and on Saturday his name appeared on the Bay teamsheet for their 2-1 home defeat by Isthmian South East play-off rivals Hythe.

“It was a funny one with Vance,” said assistant manager Tommy Osborne, who saw Ashford lose 4-0 at Ramsgate on Saturday, while their midweek game at Horndean was again postponed.

“I thought he was going somewhere else and then that didn’t happen and he’s ended up at Herne Bay.

“Vance wanted to leave the club. We were a bit surprised. We didn’t know that.

“We found out a couple of days after we played Merstham that he wanted to leave and that was it.

“He was having a good season.

“I think he was heading towards his highest tally in a season, he was always happy and good around the dressing room, so it came out of the blue when he spoke to Kev and said he wanted to leave.

“We had no indication of it whatsoever. He was playing every game and scoring goals. We weren’t expecting that call from Vance one little bit.”

Ashford, who host Sittingbourne this Saturday (3pm), have made enquiries about a replacement.

Getting deals over the line is easier said than done, however.

Osborne said: “We have spoken to one or two but there’s nothing concrete at the minute.

“It’s a difficult time of year because it’s that stage where players are probably going to stay with their teams.

“It has left a gap, losing Vance, no doubt about that, and we’ll have to see what we can do.”

Under-18 forward Stanley Oldfield, who’s been on dual-registration at Southern Counties East Division 1 side Staplehurst