Dartford manager Alan Dowson wants former Oxford United and Woking winger Malaki Napa to impress during pre-season

Dartford manager Alan Dowson wants talented winger Malaki Napa to reignite his career at Princes Park.

The 23-year-old is expected to start pre-season with the Darts and Dowson believes he’s got enough ability to make a big impression.

Napa first featured in Oxford’s first team five years ago and had loan spells with Dowson at both Hampton and Woking, eventually joining the latter permanently in March 2021.

The Darts boss wants Napa to make the most of his latest opportunity.

“Malaki’s coming along with a view to signing,” disclosed Dowson.

“Let’s see how fit he is, let’s see if he wants to be here, because if we get him right he’s a good winger.

“He was going to be a million pound player but he had a setback. He played a lot of games at Oxford’s first team but he broke his leg playing for Oxford and he got depressed about it.

“He’s getting himself right now, he’s running at six o’clock every morning so I’m looking forward to him coming down.

“He came to me at Woking and did okay but he can do better. He scored a great overhead kick in the quarter-final of the FA Trophy for us but he’s got to come here and show what he’s worth.”

Dowson revealed he’ll only have “two or three” trialists joining the squad at the start of pre-season, along with some players from the club’s academy.

One player definitely there will be popular goalkeeper Dan Wilks, who put pen to paper to remain at Dartford on Thursday night.

He’s not one for having too many bodies around, knowing that very few of them will actually start the season with Dartford.

“I’ve always tried to have tight-knit squads at the clubs I’ve been at,” stated Dowson.

“When you have big squads, you’ve got six or seven sitting in the stands. I’m not paying people to sit in the