Devonshire gets his man as Sparkes flies to the Iron (From Braintree and Witham Times)

Devonshire gets his man as Sparkes flies to the Iron

10:44am Wednesday 27th June 2012 in Sport By Simon Spurgeon

Braintree Town have completed their first signing of the summer with the capture of left-sided midfielder Daniel Sparkes from Blue Square Bet North side Histon.

The 20-year-old has signed a two-year deal with the Iron and will come in as a replacement for Jai Reason, who left to join Eastleigh last month, on the left-side of the pitch.

But Sparkes is a player who manager Alan Devonshire has been targeting for some time.

He said: "Daniel is a player we've been watching for a while.

"He's got a great left foot and will comfortably make the step up to the national division.

"He'll be a great asset for us."

Braintree have said that they will have to pay a compensation fee to Histon for Sparkes as he has been a contracted player at Bridge Road.

Sparkes, who was Histon’s captain, had risen through the club’s ranks over the last seven years from the academy and into the first-team.

He made 94 first-team appearances in total and scored 18 times, 13 of which came in his 45 appearances last season.

Histon boss Brian Page said “I am obviously disappointed to lose Dan, he was a key player for us and a big part of my plans for the coming season.

“We made him an improved offer to try and keep him here but he has decided to move on and I understand that and respect his decision as he wants to play at the highest level he can.

“He has been great for us over the years and I’ve no doubt he has a successful career ahead of him.”