Hebburn Town sign big-name quartet '“ including ex-South Shields trio

Louis Storey, Graeme Armstrong and Luke Sullivan have joined the Hornets from the Mariners while James Fairley joins the club from Marske United.

It is a massive move by the ambitious club, with more big-name signings in the pipeline.

Manager Scott Oliver said: “The lads are all very good signings, they make a massive statement on what we intend to do in the coming months.

“I think I’ve had one day off since the end of the season and then we got cracking straight away, and it looks like we’ve been successful.

“These lads were only going to sign if we could show to them that we meant business. They haven’t just come here for an easy time, they want to win things and be part of what we want to achieve as a club.

“We definitely want to progress through the leagues, it’s not going to be just a one-season wonder.

“The club is on the up, momentum is with us, so we should push now while we can.”

Defender Storey, still aged just 24, joined South Shields in the summer of 2016 and made 72 appearances, despite suffering a broken leg and knee ligament damage just a month into his time at Mariners Park.

Storey, who also plays in central midfield, has won the Northern League, FA Vase, Durham Challenge Cup, Northern League Cup and Evo Stik League Division 1 North in his last two seasons.

He had been offered back at Shields in the summer, but has decided to move to Hebburn.

Striker Sullivan had been released by the Mariners at the end of the season, but has a huge Northern League pedigree, having scored 136 goals in 206 appearances for Consett before his move to Shields.

He scored seven times for the Mariners, and spent part of the season on loan at Bishop Auckland.

Armstrong, 34, is a very experienced striker, who has played in the National League.

The striker played a key part in back-to-back promotions to the National League with Gateshead between 2007-10, and more recently scored 39 goals for Darlington between 2014-16.

In addition to this, he also helped Spennymoor Town to promotion to the National League North in the 2016/17 season.

Armstrong joined South Shields in December 2017 and during his time scored 10 goals in 27 appearances, but was transfer listed at the end of the season with him unable to commit to travelling.

Fairley is an experienced right-winger who has played for six Northern League clubs.

Last season, he spent a short time at Whitby Town before re-joining Marske United and winning the Northern League with them.

His previous clubs include Whitley Bay, West Auckland, Durham City, Jarrow Roofing and Bishop Auckland.

He has also attracted interest from League Two club Port Vale and was on trial for Neil Aspin’s side in April.