FORMER Weymouth winger Tom Blair has joined divisional rivals Havant & Waterlooville.

Blair, 24, was widely tipped to seal a National League move or perhaps an EFL switch after leaving the Terras in May, searching for full-time football.

The former Dorchester dynamo made 76 Weymouth appearances in total, scoring six goals and making 17 assists.

But he has now made the decision to stay at Vanarama National League South level, favouring a deal with the Hawks, a side Weymouth knocked out of the FA Cup last season and who missed out on the play-offs.

Blair told Havant’s media team: “I am really happy to get this over the line.

READ MORE: Tom Blair announces Weymouth departure

“The club has a really nice setup, and a good (set of) fans, good gates, and I am looking at this as the next stepping stone in my career.”

However, his previous boss Bobby Wilkinson admits he was “surprised” Blair has opted to join one of Weymouth’s rivals despite his higher ambitions.

Speaking to Echosport, Wilkinson said: “I wish Tom all the best, we wanted to keep him but we couldn’t afford him.

“I’m very surprised he’s gone to a team in our league because there were a lot of rumours he was looking for a step higher and full-time football.

“That was surprising to me but I was proud I got Tom playing well last season when a lot of managers haven’t.

“He’s a very good player and I enjoyed working with him, personally.”

Wilkinson stressed Blair was not offered back to Weymouth, following attempts by the player’s agent, ex-Premier League striker Kevin Davies, to secure him a higher-level move.