Defender Sam Graham joins Dale

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Rochdale AFC manager Robbie Stockdale has made Sam Graham from Sheffield United his first signing since taking charge last month.

The 20-year-old defender joins Dale on a free transfer, putting pen to paper on a two-year deal.

Graham signed a professional contract with for Sheffield United in 2017 after coming through their youth ranks.

Since then, he has had spells on loan at FC Halifax Town, Oldham Athletic and Notts County, as well as with Australian A-League side Central Coast Mariners.

“I’m so pleased to get the deal done,” said Graham.

“I’ve been waiting for a couple of weeks for it to go through and now that it’s finally done, I can just go and kick on.

“The manager spoke to me about how he wants to play this season and about the players that are already here and the players that he wants to bring in and it sounded good to me [which is why I wanted to sign here].

“I need to go and play and prove myself, and after speaking to the manager I can do that here.”

Manager Robbie Stockdale added: “I’m really pleased to get Sam on a permanent basis.

“His physical attributes are outstanding and he’ll add pace and power to our team. He’s technically good with the ball but we’ll also improve him on that aspect.

“He still had a year left at Sheffield United and he easily could have waited, but it says a lot about the player that he wants to come and play. I must thank Sheffield United for allowing us to do the deal.”