Walsham-le-Willows re-sign Jamie Smith after striker fired Old Newton United to Suffolk & Ipswich League Senior Division title

Jamie Smith has returned to Walsham-le-Willows.

Between the start of the 2020/21 season and the conclusion of the 2022/23 campaign, Smith found the back of the net on 46 occasions from 97 appearances in a Walsham shirt.

A subsequent move to Lakenheath under former Walsham boss Trevor Collins did not work out, but Smith bounced back last term by firing in 32 goals from just 27 outings to help Old Newton United be crowned the Suffolk & Ipswich League Senior Division champions.

And now the forward has decided to make the jump back up to Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division with Walsham.

Joint boss Chay Budd said: “We didn’t feel as though we scored as many goals as we should have done last season and we’re hoping Jamie will help with that.

“He wanted a little break from Step 5 football after Lakenheath, but he’s someone we’ve always kept in touch with and now he’s ready to crack on again.

“We know him well, he played for me when I was in charge of the reserves and he was someone we didn’t want to lose in the first place.

“It was tough at the time for him. We didn’t have the quality that we do now and it was a struggle for him playing up front on his own.

“He wanted a fresh start and we understood that, but now we’re really pleased to have him back in the squad.”

Smith’s return has bolstered the attacking options available to Budd and fellow boss Ian Hubbard.

Young forward Reon Huckvale recently signed a contract with the club amid interest from elsewhere, while Kieran Twinn, Charlie Norman and George Bugg will all be vying for spots in the frontline.

Budd added: “We’ve got some really good options now so hopefully we can add to our goal tally.

“There’s some real competition and a good mixture of youth and experience to our attack.”