Farnham Town are thrilled to announce the signing of attacking midfielder Joel Rollinson from National League South side Weymouth. He will wear the No. 16 shirt for the Town.
The 25-year-old was born in Reading and came through the academy system with the Royals, appearing frequently for their youth sides in the U18 Premier League and PL2 during the 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons as a teenager.
In November 2018, he joined Eastbourne Borough on a two-month loan in the National League South, making his senior debut on Nov. 17th in a 1-0 defeat to Bath City. He would appear in all nine of Eastbourne’s league fixtures prior to his loan ending and return to Reading.
Over the summer of 2019, Joel completed a transfer to League Two side Stevenage and made his Football League debut as a second-half substitute against Bradford City. In the latter half of the season, he joined Isthmian Premier Division side Cray Wanderers on loan where he made 20 appearances, scoring three times.
Rollinson returned to Eastbourne Borough on a permanent basis in June 2020 where he scored three times in 23 appearances before the COVID-19 pandemic curtailed the season in February 2021.
The following campaign, Joel established himself as a regular in the Eastbourne side, making 36 appearances in the National League South, scoring four goals and helping The Sports into the playoffs in 2021/22 where they lost out to Oxford City.
From there, Joel would transfer to fellow National League South side Hungerford Town, scoring on three occasions in 32 league appearances in 2022/23. In the summer of 2023, he joined Weymouth where he scored twice in 32 league games.
Having spent the entirety of his professional career playing at Step 3 level or higher, Joel brings great experience of playing higher up the football pyramid as we prepare for our first-ever Step 4 campaign following our promotion as unbeaten champions of the Combined Counties Premier Division South.
Manager Paul Johnson said: “I’m delighted to welcome Joel to the Club today. Having played nearly his entire career at Step 2, he’s a proven commodity and an excellent footballer who should add a lot to the side and raise the bar. He’s an individual who will look to set standards in the dressing room as we aim to make a real go of the Isthmian South Central this season.
“At 25, he’s still young and has room to grow, but has lots of experience under his belt already which should mean he can hit the ground running. There were other Step 2 clubs looking at Joel this summer but we’re thrilled to get him in. From speaking to him, he’s excited about our project having watched it from afar over the last season or two, and I think he’s got a character that should fit right in with the group we’ve got. We can’t wait to welcome Joel in pre-season!”
Club Director Harry Hugo said: “Everyone associated with the Club should be excited about welcoming Joel to Farnham Town today. It shows how far we’ve come as a Club and how successful the project we’re developing here has been that we’ve been able to attract a player like Joel to the Club – an extremely talented footballer, who at 25 is right in their prime, and was playing regularly at Step 2 level last season and has done for the majority of their career.
“He’s turned down Clubs higher up the levels to come and join us and help build on what we’re looking to achieve at Farnham, which speaks volumes. I can’t wait to see Joel in action for the Town next season!”
Everyone at Farnham Town would like to welcome Joel to the Club and we’re looking forward to seeing you in Claret & Blue this season!