Forest Green Rovers missed out on promotion back to the EFL at the second time of asking last season, with their attention already turning to make it a third time lucky this campaign.
Robbie Savage’s side finished seventh in the National League, achieving a second successive play-off finish though they were knocked out at the quarter-final stages against Boreham Wood.
The previous campaign also saw the club sign a whopping 28 players, ranging from loanees to permanent additions from the lower non-League divisions.
With their retained list now confirmed, attention can turn to their upcoming season.
Forest Green close in on first summer addition
Following the unexpected departure of experienced defender Jordan Moore-Taylor, Forest Green are likely to be in the market for at least one centre-back this summer.
The club did secure the arrival of Gabe Kircough earlier this year, but now it appears that Savage’s side are set to raid the lower divisions once again.
As reported by journalist Pete O’Rourke, Forest Green have won the race to sign Hemel Hempstead defender Kyle Ajayi on a permanent deal.
The 25-year-old was the subject of interest from National League South side Dagenham & Redbridge, but it’s been reported that Ajayi turned that down in favour of a move to Forest Green.
Ajayi signed a new contract at Hemel Hempstead last summer, but that is set to expire, suggesting this will be a free transfer.
He made 38 league appearances during the 2025/26 campaign, contributing to four goals as Hemel Hempstead missed out on promotion via the play-offs.
Does Ajayi’s arrival hint at a change in transfer strategy?
As mentioned, Forest Green made 28 signings last summer but their recruitment strategy caused confusion as they didn’t appear to have a set plan.
For instance, they began with former EFL players such as Jayden Clarke (Gillingham) & Luke McNicholas (Wrexham) before adding a handful of Savage’s former Macclesfield players and inexperienced loanees from the EFL.
As the campaign progressed, Forest Green continued with a focus on younger loanees and players from the lower leagues such as Merthyr Town’s Ricardo Rees and Kircough as previously mentioned.
Given that the club have parted ways with several experienced players this summer such as Christian Doidge, Harry Isted and Moore-Taylor – the addition of Ajayi could suggest that Forest Green are potentially looking at more lower league players to make the step up.
This would suggest a possibility of trying to save money, opting for unproven talent from the lower divisions rather than potentially expensive former EFL players.
Forest Green have had success with this, with the likes of Rees and Laurent Mendy – suggesting they’d possibly want more of the same rather than risk a big-name addition.
