CHRIS TODD has suffered a blow to his summer recruitment at Eastleigh with defender Richard Duffy leaving the club just a month after signing.
The former Welsh international turned down a new deal with League One side Port Vale to join the Spitfires in the National League.
It was seen as a major coup for Eastleigh as they target promotion to the Football League but Duffy has now left before pulling on a Spitfires shirt.
The 30-year-old signed a two-year deal at the Silverlake Stadium at the end of May but Todd has confirmed he has been allowed to leave after receiving an offer from Notts County.
Disappointed Todd told the club’s website: “Whilst I am clearly disappointed that Richard will not be joining my squad for the 2016-17 campaign, it is vital that the whole team are here in soul as well as body next season and that they are all fully focused on the job in hand.
“It is no secret that we will be going for promotion again this year, this is clear from the signings we have made so far this summer and with everything taken into consideration, I felt it was best that we allowed Richard to go elsewhere if he was not 100 per cent focused on the club’s main objective.
“We are still working exceptionally hard to strengthen the squad and I would like to take this opportunity to thank my chairman Stewart Donald for the way he has supported me so far in the summer transfer market.
“I hope we can add one, or maybe two more names to the squad before we get going in the next week or so.”
