Dagenham & Redbridge have announced the signing of Ángelo Balanta from Borehamwood for an undisclosed fee.
The experienced forward has reportedly been sought after by many clubs, and it is the first signing that the club have made since the investment from Trinity Sports Holdings.
Balanta played a full 90 minutes on Saturday as his former employees faced off against The Daggers in a 2-2 draw at Meadow Park in the FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round.
Daggers Delight
Speaking to DaggersTV, the new signing is keen to become a integral part of the east London side:
“I’m delighted to signed for the club, it’s been running on for a little while so I’m very happy to get the deal finalised. Dagenham are a big club at this level and they have the potential to progress higher.
“The club are in a rut at the moment, but I’m looking forward to helping to improve the situation,” said the 28-year-old.
Taylored Connection
Daggers boss, Peter Taylor expressed his pleasure that he’d finally managed to snap up the forward.
“I’m absolutely delighted to have secured the signing of Ángelo Balanta. I’ve known him for a very long time, he was one of my players when I was at Wycombe in 2008 and he was just 18 years of age and just starting out at Queens Park Rangers.
“I have followed his career ever since then and I think he’s shown what a very good player he is in the National League and I am thrilled that we have brought in somebody of his quality,” he said.
Proven Quality
The Columbian-born forward started his career in the QPR youth system, where the forward went on to extend a stay with the Hoops until 2014.
In that time Angelo went on loan at several Football League clubs including Wycombe, where he worked with current Dagenham & Redbridge boss Peter Taylor, MK Dons and Yeovil Town.
After leaving the Championship outfit in 2014, the 28-year-old spent a year with Bristol Rovers, where he made 18 appearances over the season with the Pirates. In the summer of 2015, Balanta moved from Bristol to Carlisle on a free transfer, where he would spend another year, before a move to his former club, Borehamwood.
Ángelo has been with Borehamwood since the summer of 2016 and has made 92 appearances for the club, scoring 21 and assisting 12.
“I have followed his career ever since then and I think he’s shown what a very good player he is in the National League and I am thrilled that we have brought in somebody of his quality,” Taylor said.
“Balanta Just The Start”
The Clubs Executive Chairman, Peter B. Freund also told DaggersTV that “the Balanta signing is just the start of our ownership’s commitment to bring in the best players available and secure this club’s future”.
“I’m thrilled to be over this coming weekend to see his debut live for the Daggers.”
Balanta will wear the number 10 shirt for The Daggers, however, the former Borehamwood man is cup-tied, so he will be unable to play for the club ahead of tomorrow’s fixture against his old team-mates. He will be available for selection against Harrogate Town on Saturday.
* Image reproduced by kind permission of Dagenham & Redbridge FC
