Jordan Greenidge made the first move in the deal that brought him back to Tonbridge Angels.

Striker Greenidge enjoyed a successful loan spell at Longmead last season, scoring 17 goals in 28 appearances.

He attracted plenty of interest in the summer but had been training alone after Hemel Hempstead took up an option on his contract.

Greenidge, 23, played the best football of his career under Angels boss Jay Saunders and wanted to come back - this time on a permanent deal.

“We’ve kept in contact all summer and he’s asked my advice about this and that,” said Saunders, who released Stefan Payne to make room for Greenidge.

“I was honest with him, I said you can go higher, and he had some good offers but some of those offers didn’t really work for him location-wise.

“He rang me last Tuesday night and just said, ‘Gaffer, I enjoyed it at Tonbridge, can I come back?’

“For me, it was a no-brainer. He was a big player for us last year, scoring the goals he did.

“We couldn’t miss out on the opportunity to get him back.

“I spoke to Sophie (Purves, Angels chair) and she got straight in touch with Hemel and we managed to get it done.”

Greenidge, who hadn’t played since the final match of last season, made an unexpected start at Slough in National League South last Saturday after Lewis Gard was injured in the warm-up.

He didn’t score but his presence alone helped as Tonbridge won 5-2 with goals from Jamie Fielding, Ibby Akanbi, Kodi Lyons-Foster, Ruben Soares-Junior and Nathan Wood.

The big forward started again on Tuesday night as Angels shared an entertaining 0-0 draw with Braintree.

Saunders said: “He had a great chance on Tuesday night and when he’s fully up and running he puts that away.

“He’s been doing pre-season all by himself.

“His fitness is good, he’s come back a stone lighter than last season, it’s just that match sharpness.

“You get that rustiness as a forward in front of goal when you haven’t played for such a long time.

“I think that showed on Tuesday when he went through and beat three players and you’re thinking, ‘Shoot, shoot, shoot’ and he just delayed his shot, whereas last season he’d have got his shot away.

“That’ll come as we get him up to speed and, talking to Braintree’s manager after the game, he said straight away he occupies two defenders because of his size and his power and pace. We’re delighted to have him back.

“Sometimes as a player, you find somewhere you enjoy and a manager who trusts you.

“You look at his record and he’s had four or five games here and there. We were the first club to give him a run of games, which helped convince him to come back.”

Meanwhile, midfielder Johl Powell has joined Dover.

The former Charlton youngster, a summer signing from Dulwich, was behind Scott Wagstaff, Gard and Jordan Higgs in the pecking order.

Saunders, whose side host Taunton this Saturday (3pm), said: “It was a difficult one with Powelly because when I signed him, I thought we were losing Gardy.

“Gardy then got in touch and said he wanted to stay and everyone knows how highly I rate him.

“I made him my player-of-the-year last season.

“I like Powelly, I just couldn’t get him in the side.

“He came to me and said, ‘Gaffer, I just want to play’ and I’d never stand in someone’s way if that’s how they feel.”