Former Fulham youngster Charles Banya is looking to rebuild his career at Maidstone after months out of the game.

The midfielder has experienced the highs of being named on the bench for a Premier League match at Stoke under ex-boss Martin Jol.

That’s been followed by the lows of finding himself without a club after taking the advice of his agent to reject a move to National League Woking in the summer after leaving Crawley.

Banya, who has since split with the agent, linked up with Maidstone last month with help from defender Callum Driver, who recommended him to boss Jay Saunders.

The 22-year-old made his debut in the Kent Senior Cup against Ebbsfleet and was a second-half substitute against Maidenhead.

“They (Stones) had never seen me play or anything but I got invited to training." he said.

“Woking have been good to me. I’ve been there on loan twice so they said to come in and train. They initially made me an offer but my agent told me to turn it down and since then I’ve been without a club.

“If Maidstone want to keep me, I’m glad to stay for as long as possible. I want to get back into the league but it doesn’t feel like a step down because of the way the club’s run and the fans they get."

Banya joined Fulham aged 12 and spent eight years there before being released after they were relegated to the Championship under Felix Magath in 2014.

He added: “When I was 19, I got on the bench at Stoke. It was surreal. I was so happy to be noticed for doing well in the under-21s by Martin Jol. He spoke to me a lot and liked me a lot. He was a great manager."

Read the full interview with Charles Banya in Friday's Kent Messenger.