Tonbridge Angels manager Jay Saunders tells how Jordan Greenidge initiated his return to Longmead

Jordan Greenidge made the first move in the deal that brought him back to Tonbridge Angels.

Striker Greenidge enjoyed a successful loan spell at Longmead last season, scoring 17 goals in 28 appearances.

He attracted plenty of interest in the summer but had been training alone after Hemel Hempstead took up an option on his contract.

Greenidge, 23, played the best football of his career under Angels boss Jay Saunders and wanted to come back - this time on a permanent deal.

“We’ve kept in contact all summer and he’s asked my advice about this and that,” said Saunders, who released Stefan Payne to make room for Greenidge.

“I was honest with him, I said you can go higher, and he had some good offers but some of those offers didn’t really work for him location-wise.

“He rang me last Tuesday night and just said, ‘Gaffer, I enjoyed it at Tonbridge, can I come back?’

“For me, it was a no-brainer. He was a big player for us last year, scoring the goals he did.

“We couldn’t miss out on the opportunity to get him back.

“I spoke to Sophie (Purves, Angels chair) and she got straight in touch with Hemel and we managed to get it done.”

Greenidge, who hadn’t played since the final match of last season, made an unexpected start at Slough in National League South last Saturday after Lewis Gard was injured in the warm-up.

He didn’t score but his presence alone helped as Tonbridge won 5-2 with goals from Jamie Fielding, Ibby Akanbi, Kodi Lyons-Foster, Ruben Soares-Junior and Nathan Wood.

The big forward started again on Tuesday night as Angels shared an entertaining 0-0 draw with Braintree.

Saunders said: “He had a great chance on Tuesday night and when he’s fully up and running he puts that away.

“He’s been doing pre-season all by himself.