Pic: Alan Palmer
NEW Sutton United winger Bradley Hudson-Odoi thinks Gander Green Lane will be the perfect place to continue his climb back up the football ladder.
Boss Paul Doswell made Hudson-Odoi the National League South champions’ first summer signing after he impressed with their former league rivals Wealdstone.
The 27-year-old scored 15 times for the Stones to share the club’s golden boot award while he was also named the players’ and supporters’ player of the season.
Hudson-Odoi scored against Sutton in the league fixture against them back in August and clearly did enough to convince Doswell he could make the step up.
The former Fulham, Hereford United and Grays Athletic forward, who last played in Non-League‘s top tier for Histon in 2009-10, wants to continue his upwards trajectory with the U’s.
Synthetic 3G pitches, like the one Sutton installed almost 12 months ago, might not be everybody’s cup of tea but Hudson-Odoi can’t wait to get going in his new surroundings.
He told The NLP: “I feel I had a really good season with Wealdstone and now having the chance to work with somebody like Paul Doswell, it can only help me kick on.
“Having played against them last season, it was clear they were a really good team and the best we faced. They like to play the right way too and that will suit me.
“For the sort of player I am, a winger, playing on that 3G pitch is brilliant. You don’t have to worry about the ball bobbling, you can feel confident running with the ball.
“The ground is five minutes from my house, they’ve got a great manager and it’s a club with a big Non-League history – it’s a perfect move for me.”
So excited by the move is Hudson-Odoi that he’s making sure he learns from his past mistakes by ensuring he stays in shape while on a family holiday in Orlando.
He admits he started last season slowly at Wealdstone and intends on hitting the ground running with Sutton when pre-season starts on July 2.
“I had a trip away last pre-season and that set me back three or four weeks and I was always playing catch up,” the former Ghana U20 international added.
“Even though I’m away at the moment, I’m still ticking over by going for light jogs because I don’t want my levels to drop.
“I’ve played in League One and the National League before and we’ve got quite a few players who have played higher so we all know the level that is required.
“It really excites me to be going into the National League because I believe I’ve got unfinished business at that level. I want to demonstrate what I did this year against better opposition and see where it takes me.”
