MIDFIELDER Elliott Durrell has signed for York City on a free transfer.

The 30-year-old put pen to paper after his release from League Two side Macclesfield Town in the summer and links up again with Steve Watson, who was previously assistant-manager with the Silkmen.

Watson said: “He played a huge part in Macclesfield winning the National League and he spent a lot of that year injured, but even his appearances when he came off the bench, he was a complete game-changer.

“Elliott is a little bit different to what we have got, he is someone that can pick locks and score out of nothing.

“He has been training at other clubs this summer without finding anything that really appealed to him and he’s another player who I thought we’d struggle to get because of the level we are at.

“He’s had a look at the city, stayed overnight a couple of times, trained with the boys, seen the training facilities and he knows that this is a big club which is ready to go places.”

Durrell made 55 appearances for Macclesfield over two seasons, and was notably named in the National League Team of the Year in 2017-18 after winning promotion back to the Football League with the Cheshire-based side.

Injury hampered his time in League Two last term, but Durrell still managed to find the back of the net four times in 18 games from midfield.

Watson added: “Until we ascertain where he is at fitness-wise in terms of 90 minutes, I think he will be a player to come on and make an impact at first.

“But he won’t want to hear that and he won’t want to be that so the Buxton game in the FA Cup might be a good time to see where he is at and unleash him on that day rather than this weekend.”

Durrell now brings the total number of senior pros to 26, and goes straight into contention for the game against King’s Lynn Town on Saturday.

Watson explained: “I’m always looking to make us better and give us something different to what we've got I think with Elliott we’ve done that.

“We have four very good centre midfielders and four or five very good strikers but he is unique in the fact that he can play between the two and find those gaps where when we have been struggling to create, he can help with that.”

The new signing is pending FA and National League approval.