VT FC have underlined their Sydenhams Premier ambitions by signing Eastleigh's pocket dynamo midfielder Tyronne Bowers.

The 26-year-old, pictured, lost his place at Eastleigh following a serious ankle injury and finished last season playing on loan at Lymington & New Milton in the Ryman League Division 1.

Bowers could undoubtedly play higher than Wessex, but the Merry Oak lad wants to be part of a forward-thinking Vosper Thornycroft outfit who will soon be unveiling big plans for the future.

VT boss Dave Diaper coached Bowers when he was a nine-year-old playing for Portchester Rangers and said: "I've been keeping tabs on Tizer for quite a while and he phoned me three weeks ago to tell me he wanted to be part of VT's future. This club has big plans and we sold it to him on that basis.

"He's got great ability and I like the fact that he's a local lad from the Sholing area. He knows my nipper Marc (Diaper) well and played with lads like Lee Bright and Kevin Gibbens at Eastleigh.

"He's going to be a very popular player at this club. Let's hope we can bring the best out of him."

Although former Salisbury City favourite Bowers can play wide or up front, he is likely to start his VT career as a midfielder, covering for two key absentees.

Ex-Saint Gibbens, the heartbeat of the VT side, has a 21-day suspension pending, while ex-Winchester City man Kevin Brewster is away working on a cruiseship until early September.

Bowers is just one of a batch of attack-minded signings at VT this summer, joining Barry Mason from Eastleigh, Ben Kneller from Winchester, Paul West from Hamble ASSC and Neil Williams from Blackfield & Langley.

"We drew 15 games last season which was a lot of points wasted, but we've set out our stall to be positive and go for goals this year and the signing of Tyronne Bowers shows we mean business," said Diaper.