Faversham have pulled off a major signing as they look to move clear of the foot of the Isthmian South East table.

Striker Zak Ansah, 28, has linked up with the Lilywhites after he last month left Isthmian Premier Herne Bay.

Ansah, the son of former Gillingham, Brentford, Bromley and Southend midfielder Andy Ansah, proved a big hit in his three-and-a-half year stay at Winch’s Field.

He helped the club to promotion from Isthmian South East last season through the play-offs and scored 57 goals in 100 appearances for Bay. But this season, he didn't add to his tally in a Herne Bay shirt and is lacking match fitness.

“We are delighted to welcome Zak to the club,” Faversham manager Simon Austin told Faversham’s website on Thursday evening.

“Goals are something this club needs to improve on. Behind-the-scenes, the club has worked hard on getting this deal over the line and to be able to announce it.

“Zak will be joining training tonight and will be available for selection straight away, we will need to manage him to get him up to match fitness given he has spent time not playing.

“Having someone like Zak now on board should give everyone a lift and [a] boost ahead of the upcoming fixtures.

“Welcome to the Lilywhites, Zak.”

Ansah enjoyed a productive spell with Hythe too.

Town this Saturday will host Swale rivals Sheppey.

But defender James O’Halloran has been ruled out for the rest this season by Austin.

The left-sided player hasn’t featured since Austin took over at Town and now appears unlikely to do so until the 2023/24 campaign.

But there was positive news for defender Dan Carrington, another yet to feature under Austin, while centre-back Ollie Gray has joined the Lilywhites and featured in both of their last two matches - 5-0 Isthmian South East defeats at VCD last weekend and at Cray Valley on Tuesday, with Kevin Watson stepping down as Cray Valley manager after their win.

Austin said: “[The] bad news is, unfortunately, following his scan, James is going to be out for the remainder of this season.

“We’ll continue to support James and he’ll be part of this group during this tough time and, as soon as he’s ready, he’ll be back.

“[The] good news is we’ve now added Ollie Gray to the squad and Dan Carrington is now two-to-three weeks away from full training back with us, he’s now able to do some light training and we look forward to having him back properly.

“It’ll be like a new signing for me as Dan has been out since before I took over.”

Carrington has racked up 180 appearances for the club and even started back in 2016 in their Isthmian Division 1 South play-off final 3-0 defeat at Worthing.

At Cray Valley, Faversham also had a new keeper in George Bentley.

It’s the start of a crucial period for Town, who then visit Three Bridges next weekend and are at home to second-bottom Corinthian (December 3).

Full-back Matt Parsons recently departed Holm Park for Faversham while midfielders Connor Wilkins and Helge Orome helped guide the Ites to a unique quadruple last season, including the Southern Counties East Premier Division title.