DORCHESTER Town have pulled off arguably their biggest signing in recent years with the capture of midfielder Tom Soares.

Soares, 34, has over 500 league and cup appearances to his name, featuring heavily at Premier League side Crystal Palace between 2003 and 2008.

He was then bought by Stoke City for £1.71m but would make only seven appearances for the Potters in four years.

During that time, Soares was loaned to Charlton, Hibernian and Sheffield Wednesday.

He later racked up over 160 games for Bury, scoring more than 20 times, and has also been capped four times by England Under-21s.

In 2020, Soares hit the headlines after dropping out of league football to play for Odcombe in the Yeovil & District League.

Soares has been a regular at the Magpies' pre-season training sessions and could feature against Hamworthy United tomorrow (3pm).

READ MORE: Dorchester to assess triallists in Hamworthy friendly

Dorchester manager Robbie Herrera told Echosport: "He's been really happy, he's been in and I've had a couple of chats with him after training.

"He's enjoying it, he's liking what myself, Kev (Hodges, assistant) and the staff are trying to do at the club.

"He's integrated really well with the boys and he's an experienced pro.

"He'll be good not just for what he brings in terms of his footballing ability but what he'll bring to the younger lads in the group.

"He's just been playing locally for his family. He's 34, he's come in, we've done some fitness testing and he's looking fit, in good condition.

"He seems like a genuine guy, he's got a good manner about him. He hasn't come in and given it the big 'I've played Premiership football'.

"He's mixed in with the boys and the boys have given him a bit of banter - he's enjoyed it."

Speaking to Dorchester's official website, Herrera added: “It’s a fantastic acquisition for the club.

"He’ll provide us with something on the pitch as we can only do so much from the sidelines, so it’ll be great to have him in and around the place.

“He’s shown he’s still got that hunger to play and hopefully do well with us at Dorchester.”