Horsham boss Di Paola hails summer signings

Tom Kavanagh is one of five new faces in at Horsham this summer. Picture courtesy of Horsham Football Club

The Hornets, in recent weeks, have snapped up ex-England under-17 international goalkeeper Sam Howes from Dorking Wanderers, striker Alex Laing from Burgess Hill Town, and experienced midfielder Tom Kavanagh from Kingstonian.

Versatile winger Tom Richards and goalscoring midfielder Brad Wilson has also made the move to The Camping World Community Stadium this summer.

Speaking on the signings of Howes, Laing and Kavanagh, Di Paola said: I’m amazed we got Sam into the club. He’s had two or three difficult seasons where things haven’t gone right for him a as a player.

“He lives in East Grinstead and he wants to play somewhere local where he knows he’s going to play and get back to where he need to be.

“But he’s a brilliant keeper so we’re really excited to have him on board. He’s quality.

“Laingy signed last season during the Covid break so he’s been with us for a little while.

“I think he’s a really talented player. He’s got really good energy levels, he’s quick, direct, and got an eye for goal.

“He’s at a good age. He’s got good potential at 25 to give us a bit of a boost.

“Tom I’ve known as a player for a long time when he was at Sutton and his very brief spell at Whitehawk.

“We never really replaced Lea Dawson who was with us in the first year in the Prem.

“We signed different sorts of midfielders last year but Lea was a real box-to-box player. I’m hoping Tom can come in and do that for us.”

Di Paola also revealed that two more new signings were in the offing at The Camping World Community Stadium, as he looks to get the Hornets’ squad up to 19 players before the new campaign.

He added: “We’re going to end up around at the 18, 19 player mark going into the start of the season. It’s about where we need to be.

“We want to be around that number but we’ve got a couple more coming in.

“We trained on Monday and everyone worked really hard and we just want a tight-knit group, with everyone working hard and getting as fit as they can be. That should put us in good stead.”