Former Chatham striker Ade Yusuff spent the night before his Football League debut working in a restaurant.

Yusuff’s move to League 2 Dagenham was announced on Friday – but the 20-year-old wasn’t about to walk out on his day job without notice.

He worked his shift at Wagamama in Bluewater and on Saturday caught the train to Dagenham, where he made his debut as a 72nd-minute substitute in the 3-2 defeat by Cambridge.

Yusuff has signed a one-year deal with the Daggers after leaving Chatham for an undisclosed fee.

Chats boss Kevin Watson said: “We had a lot of interest from a variety of clubs, at League 2 and above, but it was about him going to a club where he’d have a good chance of featuring.

“The reality is he made his debut off the bench having been working at Wagamama until 10pm the night before and he’s still got to work his notice this week.

“He’s not a kid who’s gone straight into the professional set-up and known little else.

“He’s been on the other side of things, having responsibilities and a job, and because of that, you then appreciate opportunities more when they come along.

“How many professional footballers can say they caught the train to their game?”

Yusuff scored 24 goals in 38 games at Maidstone Road after joining from Aveley last season and Watson is backing him to shine in the Football League.

Watson added: “Dagenham had been monitoring him for a while and he played a pre-season game for them but the difficulty was people have lives and he needed to work, so he couldn’t just go in and train with them.

“Not that I was in control of the move but I wouldn’t have helped engineer it if I didn’t think he was ready to step up.

“The club haven’t received any real financial benefit, not by any stretch of the imagination, but that’s not what it’s about.

“This has been about investing in a player and helping him move on and I think he will do well.

“We felt Dagenham was the best move for him and in Wayne Burnett, he’s working for a manager who will bring him on as a player."

Read the full story in Monday's Medway Messenger