Forest Green Rovers have been handed a transfer blow in pursuit of their third potential summer signing.
Robbie Savage’s side have already secured two arrivals since the 2025/26 campaign came to an end, with Hemel Hempstead Town’s Kyle Ajayi and Carshalton Athletic’s Bryan Ifeanyi already joining the National League side.
The club finished seventh last season, confirming their second successive play-off campaign, though once again ending in disappointment as they were knocked out before the final.
However, they have been on the receiving end of a setback in terms of their pursuit of signing number three.
Forest Green handed transfer blow, but is it all as it seems?
Despite their EFL history, manager and back-to-back top seven finishes, Forest Green haven’t been successful in their hopes of landing their latest summer target – forcing them to go back to the drawing board.
Earlier this month it was reported that Savage’s side were one of several sides that had submitted offers to try and sign Hemel Hempstead defender Darion Dowrich, who was set to become a free agent this summer.
However, despite numerous offers from Forest Green, Crawley Town and others – Hemel Hempstead announced via their social media that Dowrich has snubbed a move in favour of extending his stay with the sixth-tier side.
Dowrich featured 45 times in the domestic league season for the Tudors, providing six goal contributions as they narrowly missed out on promotion themselves.
Since the announcement, Dowrich also posted a message to social media, which provided further insight into the decision. He stated…
‘God works in mysterious ways but his timing is the best. Gutted that the injury I sustained was worse than I anticipated but I promise I’ll be back 10x better than before.
‘Thankful to Hemel for helping me during this difficult period. See you soon TUDORS!’
Therefore, there is a possibility that either Dowrich did want the move but an injury prevented it, or he felt as though he needed time to regroup, recover and prepare himself both physically and mentally ahead of next season.
Whilst that is speculation, it shows a lot about his character that he hasn’t jumped at the move and has instead put himself first.
Where could Forest Green turn next?
In the modern era of football, it would be seen as rare if Forest Green didn’t already have multiple alternate options to turn to.
Based solely on their two pieces of business thus far, it appears as though Savage’s side are focusing their recruitment on players from the lower divisions.
Last season saw the club rely on youngster Jili Buyabu, who played almost every game in the National League. However, he was only on loan and has now returned to Championship side Sheffield United.
Therefore, the left-back position can be considered a priority area for the club’s recruitment team, and fans should anticipate that this setback will force them to react and target a fresh player sooner rather than later.
