Former West Ham United under-18s captain Ben Wells and defender Emmanuel Oke commit to Margate for 2025/26 season; Ben Allen and Fyn Rutherford depart Hartsdown Park club

Margate have strengthened their squad ahead of the upcoming season.

Utility player Ben Wells has joined while defender Emmanuel Oke has committed to remain with Ben Greenhalgh’s promotion-chasers for their 2025/26 Isthmian South East campaign.

Wells, 25, came through the youth-team set-up at West Ham before he joined Queens Park Rangers.

Spells at Concord and Welling followed ahead of a move to Crawley in the summer of 2022 after a successful trial.

He then joined Billericay in 2023 - where Gate No.2 Adam Flanagan became familiar with him - and ended the 2024/25 season at relegated Isthmian Premier outfit Hastings after another brief Welling stint.

Player-manager Greenhalgh, who saw the club announce the news on Wednesday as they prepare to return to training on Saturday, said: “Ben played for Welling last year and ended the season at Hastings.

“He was West Ham under-18s’ captain and Flan has watched him a bit at Billericay where that’s local to him. He fits into that central defensive midfield role and can play at centre-back.

“We have got Sam Blackman and Brandon Davey as our out-and-out midfielders, but Ben offers a bit more defensive cover.”

Another to have agreed terms with Gate is defender Emmanuel Oke, with the former King’s Lynn and Hemel Hempstead player turning down higher-division interest after he initially rejoined Margate in March during an injury-hit 2024/25 season.

“That’s a brilliant signing,” said Greenhalgh, also Dartford’s Academy boss, who is closing in on signing a young striker on loan from a higher-division club.

“I know a lot of National League South clubs were looking at E-Man.

“But he was a little bit hit-and-miss last year with injuries so I think he just wants to be somewhere where he knows