FOREST GREEN boss Mark Cooper has made his eighth signing of the summer by swooping for highly-rated central defender Ethan Pinnock on a two-year contract from Ryman Premier Division Dulwich Hamlet.

Pinnock, 23, joins Rovers for an undisclosed fee after Cooper fought off a number of suitors to land the highly-rated left-footed defender.

Pinnock will step-up two levels, after his former club narrowly missed out on promotion to National League South last season, losing the play-off decider to East Thurrock United.

He will join his new team-mates next Wednesday when the squad return for pre-season training at Rovers' Cirencester Royal Agricultural University base.

Cooper said: “He’s been on our radar for a while; we’ve been offered a lot more experienced players, but this kid has got real potential and is ready to play in the team now.

“He’s 6’2”, very quick and aggressive – and he has a very cultured left-foot – and there are not many of those around.

“And the way we want to play, high up the pitch, it’s important to have plenty of pace in defence.

“There were a lot of clubs interested in him, so to capture him underlines our ambition again."

Cooper was also impressed with what Pinnock had between the ears, with the young Londoner this week receiving positive results in his final exams for a Physical Education degree.

After signing his new deal, Pinnock said: “I’m delighted with the move and buzzing to get started.

“The way the manger wants to play suits my style, as I like to move the ball around on the ground and you don’t always get that opportunity as a central defender, although at Dulwich we did try to play as well.

In focusing on his defensive attributes, he said: “I’m good in the air and in one-v-one situations -  I think that’s a strength.

Pinnock said the quieter pace of the Cotswolds would suit this stage of his career, as he knuckles down into full-time football.

“To be honest I knew about Forest Green (the club) but didn’t know too much about the local area, except that it was near Bristol.

“However I think it’s a good place for me to come and focus and concentrate on my football.”

After making a clean sweep of the Supporters' Players of the Year, Manager’s Players of the Year and Players’ Player of theYear in the 2014-15 season, he followed that up with the latter two awards in 2015-16.

He made his senior debut for Dulwich as a 16-year-old and went on to rack-up 204 first team appearances – scoring 13 goals.

Pinnock made 50 appearances for Dulwich in all competitions last season, scoring seven goals.

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Cooper is also eyeing a proven striker to augment a strike force, which boasts Jon Parkin, Kieffer Moore, Kurtis Guthrie and new signings Christian Doidge, alongside teenage prospects Blake Davies and Olly Mehew.

The former Swindon Town boss is in the market for a goalkeeper to compete with Jonny Maxted for the number -one spot following the release of Steve Arnold after the Grimsby Town play-off final defeat at Wembley last month.