Jack King has revealed the two key links which made up his mind to sign for Ebbsfleet.

The 32-year-old defender rejected a new deal at Stevenage and also turned down other EFL clubs.

He teams up with Daryl McMahon again seven years after the pair played together in Farnborough's midfield.

Fleet also came recommended by their former striker Matt Godden, a team-mate of King during his time at Stevenage.

King said: "I’ve kept in touch with Daryl since we played together at Farnborough.

"We stayed friends and he knew I’d turned down a deal at Stevenage. He asked me what I was doing and I just said I was keeping my options open.

"I didn’t really want to take the deal at Stevenage, I felt like it was time for a fresh challenge.

"I came down, spoke to Macca and saw the set-up so it was a quick decision from there.

"I’d kept a fairly close eye on Ebbsfleet’s season last year because we had Matt Godden at Stevenage and I was close friends with him.

"We spoke about Ebbsfleet over that time and I was really impressed.

"He’s always spoken so highly of the club, from how it’s run to the style of football."

McMahon tried to sign King in each of the last two summer transfer windows and things finally fell into place this time.

King said: "He's always asked me what my movements were but last year I was under contract in the off-season and the season before, the same.

"I was at Scunthorpe and then Stevenage so in the last two or three summers I’ve been tied up.

"It’s the first summer I’ve actually been a free agent for quite a while and it was nice to see what options were out there. I’m really pleased with the decision I’ve made.

"Something didn’t quite feel right at Stevenage. I just felt like I needed something new, something fresh.

"I’m 32 now and this is an opportunity that really excites me.

"I had a few offers in the League and I was mindful about dropping out of the League but when you’re coming to a club with such ambition, I don’t see it as a backward step at all."

King and McMahon played in the Farnborough side which lost to Ebbsfleet in the 2010-11 Conference South play-off final.

"I just remember doing a lot of his running for him," joked King. "We had a good side to be honest.

"We played together for two years and I generally played with him and Gary Holloway as a three.

"We played a lot of games together - I played 100-odd games in a couple of seasons at Farnborough - and he could probably still do a job now. He was a superb player when I played with him.

"Our paths separated a bit but we always kept in touch over the phone and social media and I’m really pleased to be linking back up with him here."