Grimsby Town Football Club are pleased to announce the signing of midfielder Joey Jones on loan from National League rivals, Dagenham & Redbridge until the end of the season.

The 27-year-old spent time in the Academy systems at Arsenal and Leicester City before signing for then Championship side Yeovil Town in 2013. In January 2014, Jones joined Woking on loan before making his spell permanent in the summer, where he then went on to spend four years at the club, making over 190 appearances for the club before signing for Eastleigh in 2018.

The performances of the former Northern Ireland Under 21 International caught the attention of EFL first-timers, Salford City where he penned a two-year deal in the summer of 2019 making a total of 27 appearances. In November 2020, Jones signed for his current club Dagenham & Redbridge following his release from the Ammies and has made 36 appearances to date.

After training this afternoon, Paul Hurst spoke of the reasoning behind Jones’ signing and his surprise at being able to capture his signature.

“He’s a midfielder but can also play at centre-back. I think he gives us something different in that area of the pitch, I haven’t quite been totally happy with the balance in there, so I think hopefully he can come in and provide us with that and complement the players we have. It’s not being critical of individuals, mainly a balance of the team, we have been missing that little bit of something that I hope Joey can bring.

“He will give us a physical presence, he can play in the formation we have been playing or he can play as a sole holder so he will allow us to play that way as well and allow us to tweak the midfield. He is comfortable on the ball, he can play in defence despite being a ball-playing midfielder. He was keen to come and join us, he is leaving a team that are wanting to get in the playoffs but joining a team likewise. He wanted to be involved in a club who have got lots to play for and was an easy decision for him to come and join us.

“Yeah, it was [a surprise they let him join Town]. I had a conversation with Daryl and that was the first port of call really. There is no point trying to even take it any further if it’s a no, which I would have understood if it had been, but he said he wanted Joey to be able to play, he wasn’t in his immediate plans at present so I am grateful to that. I would like to think that that’s how things should be done, I mean I once let a player out on loan and allowed them to play against us and they scored against us. But you have got to stand by your thoughts and that’s what has happened on this occasion and we’re grateful we have got him as part of our squad now”.

Jones is not eligible for tomorrow’s visit of his parent club, Dagenham & Redbridge and will be joining up with his new teammates on Monday as they report for training.

Welcome to the Mariners, Joey!