Josiah Dyer

Gainsborough Trinity have bolstered their attacking options with a new loan signing.

The Holy Blues have added target man forward Josiah Dyer on an initial month-long loan from SkyBet League One side Barnsley. It comes after Dayle Southwell came off with an injury during Trinity’s midweek Northern Premier League defeat to Basford United.

The 19-year-old has a goal and a handful of caps for Monserrat, and is the son of former striker Bruce Dyer. Josiah’s father, who spent time at Crystal Palace, Barnsley, Sheffield United, and Doncaster Rovers, was the first-ever £1million teenage footballer.

His son has followed in his footsteps by playing at Barnsley. He appeared in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy for the Tykes earlier this season, against Manchester United under-21s.

Speaking to the Trinity website, the new recruit said: “I am delighted to be here. Big thank you to all involved in the deal, particularly the manager who expressed his desire for me to be here. I enjoyed playing in front of the Gainsborough fans in pre-season and I hope I can continue to impress by putting the ball in the back of the net for them this time.”

Gainsborough Trinity's Dayle Southwell
Josiah Dyer comes in as a replacement for Dayle Southwell, who has been ruled out through injury. Credit: Bryan Pye

Dyer scored in the pre-season friendly between Barnsley and Gainsborough this summer.

Manager Russ Wilcox gave his thoughts on the striker’s signing, and said: “With us losing Dayle Southwell to a knee injury on Tuesday night we had to act quickly to boost the squad.”

“Josiah is a big target man that performed really well against us in pre-season. Coming up 20 next week he’s still learning the game, but has attributes that will certainly help us moving forward. He’s experienced this league with FC United of Manchester so he knows what to expect.”

Dyer will be available for selection as Stockton Town visit the KAL Group Stadium on Saturday.