Darlington have today signed former Crystal Palace defender Cardo Siddik.

Cardo, 21, joined Palace at the age of 15, and played for their Academy and Under 21 teams. He also played for the Palace first team in friendly matches against Liverpool and Manchester United -- Liverpool had Mo Salah in their team -- and made his full debut for them in the EFL Trophy against Swindon. He has also represented Iraq twice at under 23 level.

Cardo, a 6ft 2" left footed centre back, unfortunately suffered a hamstring injury in 2022, and he was released at the end of the 2022-23 season. He has been training with us for several weeks, and has proved his fitness.

Manager Josh Gowling said; "He's been with us in training for a couple of weeks, and he's looked good.

"He had a promising career ahead of him before he was injured, and hopefully we'll get him back on the right track. He'll be good for us when he's properly match fit."

We would like to welcome Cardo to the club, and wish him every success with us. A video interview will follow tomorrow.