DORCHESTER Town boss Mark Jermyn says Jonah Ayunga “has got the world at his feet”.

Ayunga left the Magpies to join the Championship side earlier this week in a potentially money-spinning deal for the county town club.

Jermyn insists Dorchester won’t be “frivolous” with the cash they make from the transfer, while he reckons the aim for the Avenue outfit now is to find “the next Jonah”.

“Everybody has got high expectations of Jonah and hopefully he can live up to those,” said Jermyn, who takes his team to Stratford Town today (3pm).

“He is a very level-headed young man so I can’t see it being a problem, and he has got all the attributes to really progress.

“From when he came to us last summer to when he left, I do think he progressed a lot in a short space of time.

“I think it has got a lot to do with the way we have played and the faith we showed in him.”

He continued: “When Jonah left I said to him that the easiest thing is getting the move and the new contract, the hardest bit is keeping the contract and pushing on again.

“He has got the world at his feet at the moment and I hope he gets his head down now and kicks on.”

Jermyn says he knew “within 20 minutes” of Ayunga joining a first-team training session in pre-season that the 18-year-old had something special.

And Jermyn is keen to see more youngsters follow in the teenager’s footsteps.

“It highlights what we are trying to do with younger players,” he said.

“What has happened with Jonah shows other young lads in the area what is possible.

“We are a club that pushes people through and we have had a number of players go from Dorchester into League football.

“Now we’ve got to find the next Jonah – hopefully that’s not too far away.

“We are going to be out there looking at people and who we can identify.”

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Shane Murphy has returned to Dorchester following a spell at Wimborne Town.