Ebbsfleet United can today announce the signing of Billy Clifford on a permanent deal after the free agent departed Havant & Waterlooville.

The 30-year-old is a familiar face to Fleet fans having been the mainstay in the Hawks midfield in several tussles between the sides since 2020/21.

A former winner of this division with Wealdstone in 2019/20, Clifford began his career in Chelsea’s academy and turned professional with the Blues in 2010. In his time at Stamford Bridge, he featured on loan for Colchester United in League One and Belgian side Royal Antwerp.

Since departing Chelsea in 2014, Clifford has played in the EFL with Walsall and Crawley Town and the National League with Boreham Wood. Spells with Hemel Hempstead Town and Billericay Town followed before his starring role in Wealdstone’s title-winning side of 2019/20 where he played 37 games, scored seven goals and provided 12 assists. Those stats earned him a place in the National League South Team of the Season, and he was most recently named in the Vanarama National League’s Team of the Half Season for 2022/23.

The highly technical midfielder then moved on to Havant in 2020, signing a new two-year deal with the Hawks last season as he helped them battle towards the top of the table for the past three campaigns. He scored against the Fleet at Westleigh Park last February and has featured in four of the five games between the clubs since 2020.

Our new signing goes straight into the squad for this weekend’s game and will wear the No.18 shirt.