Ebbsfleet manager Dennis Kutrieb wants new signing Nathan Odokonyero to follow in the footsteps of Franklin Domi and Ben Chapman.

Odokonyero joined the Fleet from Isthmian Premier Bognor on Saturday and Kutrieb believes there’s already a clear development route being established within his squad.

The Fleet boss pointed to 24-year-old Chapman’s progression since joining from Dulwich in 2020, along with Franklin Domi, who moved permanently to Ebbsfleet at the start of last season from QPR.

“I think if you can build players up over a longer period of time, like Franklin Domi now one- and-a-half years or even Ben Chapman, who has been here for three years,” explained Kutrieb.

“Chapman was young when he came to us but now he’s very mature and knows exactly how we want to play. For me that’s a positive because if you can build them over a few years, they will make a massive impact because they just learn and get better and better.

“You should try to find a good mix. Yes, you can go with experience and that’s what we do, and I like to do as well. But if you have a few young players in there as well that don’t have the expectations or the pressure from the manager, they can just evolve and get better and better.

“With Franklin Domi, he was with us for six months and when he played against Worthing for the first time everyone was like ‘wow’ because he was calm, a good character with a high work-rate. He waited for his chance and already had everything on board.

“He came back on in the second game against Colchester on Saturday as a holding midfielder but he had great movement there because he knows what we want to do.

“From that point of view it’s always interesting to see the young players developing and if they are calm enough to stay where they are because sometimes, especially in this country, everyone wants to get moves and get higher, play somewhere else and do this and that.

“That’s not always a good call or the right decision. Sometimes it’s good to stay in one place and give yourself the time to develop in the right direction.

“That’s what Chapman and Domi have done outstandingly well and hopefully Nathan can go in the same way as that would mean he will be a very interesting striker.”

Chapman has already caught the eye in the first half of the Fleet’s pre-season campaign.

The good news for Kutrieb is that he’s not the only one, with every available member of his squad still in with a chance to making the starting XI for the first day of the season.

“It's not just Ben Chapman, we can speak about Darren McQueen as a second one,” Kutrieb pointed out. “They are sparks at the moment and are showing some real quality.

“That’s what it is all about, it’s pre-season and we start from zero. If someone wants to play then they need to have a good pre-season. Toby Edser’s been good, Josh Wright as well, so there’s a few players already who could make an impact.

“We will see if they can hold form or improve and get better but at this moment in time they are doing a good job and that’s what it is all about.

“It doesn’t matter what we did last season. Everyone has zero games, zero points and we start again. If you want to play you need to have a good pre-season regardless of what you did last season.”

Kutrieb isn’t concerned by the Fleet’s injury list during pre-season. Player/coach Chris Solly has joined the likes of Billy Clifford and new signings Matthias Fanimo and David Amoo on the sidelines after breaking his thumb at Sittingbourne. That trio are all due to return to action this week.

Luke O’Neill and Hayden White both came off injured during Saturday’s games with Colchester.

“Solly broke his thumb so we need to manage him now to make sure he doesn’t get hurt again on the same thumb,” said Kutrieb. “It still causes problems and pain but he’ll be able to play.

“We need to make sure it settles down before we involve him again, it won’t take a long time.

“That’s exactly what you get through pre-season. We try to get the load right and try to get everything right and prepared so they’re ready to go for the first game of the season.

“Some boys are struggling a little bit, they’ve picked up a few niggles but that’s pretty normal in pre-season. I can’t see any massive injuries.

“At the moment I’m not too concerned but we need to watch it and manage it.”

Fleet, 3-2 winners over Leyton Orient on Wednesday night thanks to two-goal Dominic Poleon and Shaq Coulthirst, visit St Albans on Saturday (1pm) and continue their pre-season preparations at home to West Ham under-23s on Tuesday (7.45pm).