Hartley Wintney bring in four players on loan

The signed players include Reading U23 and Wales U19 midfielder Ben Purcell, Imran Kayani and Fabio Sole from Slough Town, and Paul Hodges from Farnborough.

Eighteen-year-old Purcell is Wales U19 captain and came up through the Reading Academy, joining the ranks and featuring regularly for the Royals' U23 side last season during the second year of his scholarship, despite only being 17 at the time.

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He signed his first professional contract with Reading in the summer. Ben is a right-footed central midfielder. His initial agreed loan period with the Row is six weeks.

Twenty-year-old Imran Kayani, who plays as an attacking central or wide player, is a former England Schoolboy at U17 and U18, and was with the Sutton United Academy before joining Slough in August 2021. He made 26 appearances for the Rebels first team in the 2021-22 season, scoring four times. He grabbed the attention of the Row management when he bagged a hat-trick against Hartley Wintney's U23s while playing for Slough's under-23 team.

As a player proud to be British Asian, Kayani is keen to inspire generations to come and to prove that players can make it in the game regardless of ethnicity.

Tyrone Newton, joint manager at Hartley Wintney, said: "As a Club we've always embraced inclusion and worked to counter prejudice of all kinds, so we wholeheartedly support Imran's aims in encouraging everyone to believe they can do well in the game if they have the talent."

Fabio Sole is 21 and a teammate of Imran Kayani at Slough Town. Principally a midfielder, he joined Oxford United in September 2019, having previously been on the books of Reading FC. He made his debut for United in the EFL Trophy against Portsmouth in October 2019. He later had loan spells with AFC Rushden & Diamonds and Farnborough, but missed most of 2021-22 through injury and was forced to spend 10 months out of the game. He signed for National League South club Slough Town in July this year following a successful trial.

Outside of playing, Fabio was inspired to create a support network helping teenagers released by football clubs, and he co-founded Footballers Minds, an organisation which aims to aid the mental health of all those involved in the sport.

Paul Hodges, is joining The Row on loan from parent club Farnborough, after spending the initial part of this season at Hayes & Yeading Utd. He makes his return to the club where his career arguably took off, his performances, assists and goals for Hartley Wintney having earned him his move several rungs up the ladder to Vanarama National League side Woking FC. He made his Woking debut in 2018 and featured 67 times for the Cards, playing an integral part in the club's successful 2018/19 campaign. He also featured for Woking against Watford in the Emirates FA Cup Third Round.

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Paul, now 29, originally joined the Row ahead of the 2017/18 season from Abbey Rangers and quickly became a firm favourite with the home crowd. He left Woking and signed for Slough Town in Feb 2020, but rejoined the Cards late in the 2020-21 season. He then joined and helped Farnborough to promotion last season.

All four players made their debuts in the game at home to table-topping Truro City October 1, with Fabio Sole in for the injured Reese Jones at left back, and Hodges and Kayani playing wide midfield. Ben Purcell came on early in the second half in centre midfield and showed all the confidence expected of a young but clearly very talented player.