Former Grimsby Town, Birmingham City and Chesterfield striker Akwasi Asante has found a new club, signing for National League North side Darlington.
Asante is a former teammate of Quakers’ boss Josh Gowling, and he joins after a stint at Chesterfield, where he scored 22 goals in 69 outings. After being a regular for three seasons, he has not featured for the Spireites this campaign, as was released by mutual consent earlier this month.
The forward, who scored a hattrick against Darlington for Chester on his debut a few seasons ago, admitted his friendship with Gowling was a major factor in his move north.
“I left Chesterfield last week, and I’ve been in talks with a few clubs, but Josh Gowling, the manager here, I’ve known him from my time at Kidderminster and my time at Grimsby,” he told the club’s official site.
“He messaged me a few months ago about potentially coming on loan to Darlington. I did ask him what was the ambition of the club and where it was heading. Looking at the league table, it’s not great, but I’m not worried about that because it’s only November.”
Darlington currently sit 22nd in National League North, eight points from safety, with a game in hand on the team in 20th, Peterborough Sports. They’ve scored 15 goals, with only two teams having bagged fewer, which is where they’ll hope Asante adds value.
The Amsterdam-born striker spent his youth career with Dutch clubs Neerlandia/SLTO, Blauw-Wit Amsterdam and 2005 HFC Haarlem before moving to the UK. In 2008, he was picked up by Birmingham City, but he didn’t make a senior league appearance for the Blues, instead getting a run out in the Europa League.
After loan spells with Northampton and Shrewsbury, he moved to Kidderminster and then Solihull Moors. Whilst at Solihull, he hit a streak of goalscoring form, and that led to a move to Blundell Park for a stab at League football. He joined up with his former Solihull boss, Marcus Bignot, but injury restricted him to just nine outings and a single goal. He was released by Grimsby after a single season.
Spells at Tamworth, Gloucester, Chester and Chesterfield have followed. Two of those spells have been in National League North; he hit eight goals in nine outings for Gloucester and 27 in 36 for Chester City.
His first game is likely to be against National League North rivals and his former local rivals at Grimsby, Scunthorpe United, in the FA Trophy Second Round this weekend.
Writer’s View
Asante is one of those players who can always grab a goal, and he’s going to be a huge asset to Darlington. They’re a big club with a rich Football League history, but after more than a decade in the wilderness, they’re trying to at least get back into the National League.
Asante will help – his record in the sixth tier speaks for itself, and he was a decent squad member at Chesterfield for three seasons. He’ll certainly be hoping to make an impression should he appear against Scunthorpe, or failing that, in their crucial games against Warrington and strugglers Rushall Olympic later this month.
He should be a big addition for Gowling, and his goals can help the Quakers at least stave off the threat of relegation.
