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Forest Green Rovers sign three players – Rob Hall, Conrad Logan and Odin Bailey – on loan

Stroud District > Sport > Football

Author: Roger Jackson, Posted: Friday, 24th January 2020, 12:30

Forest Green head coach Mark Cooper Forest Green head coach Mark Cooper

Promotion-chasing Forest Green Rovers have signed three players on loan.

The League Two club have swooped for Rob Hall, Conrad Logan and Odin Bailey.

Hall, a wide player, has joined from League One side Oxford United.

The 26-year-old has played 24 games for the U’s this term, scoring six goals, and has been rewarded with a year extension to his contract before joining Forest Green for the remainder of the season.

Having started his career at West Ham, Hall also signed permanently for Bolton Wanderers where he linked up with current Forest Green player/coach Matt Mills, who had an influence on Hall’s decision to head to The New Lawn.

“I’m very excited to be here,” he said.

“It’s good to get it done fairly early and I’m happy to be here and to get going.

“I’m wanting game time, but most importantly it is about helping the team. It’s a great team here and I want to fit into what they do and learn how they play and take that on board.

“You know that Forest Green are a footballing side, that’s always stuck with the club, and it was a bit of a no brainer because I like to play football in a certain style and hopefully it clicks nicely.

“It’s nice to be back in the swing of things, training every day after such a long time out and hopefully now I can impact games like I know I can.”

Born in Aylesbury, Hall signed his first professional contract with West Ham in 2010 and had his first taste of the Kassam Stadium when he experienced his first loan move, a one-month deal.

Hall also had loan stints at Birmingham City, where he made seven assists in 13 Championship appearances, and Bolton Wanderers, before signing permanently for the Trotters in 2013 on a three-year deal.

He had two loan spells at MK Dons, scoring six goals, but that was cut short after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during training.

He joined Oxford in 2016 on a two-year deal and today has signed a one-year extension to his deal with Oxford ahead of his move to Forest Green.

He has been handed the number 15 shirt at Forest Green.

Goalkeeper Logan has joined on loan from League Two side Mansfield Town until the end of the season.

The 33-year-old was involved in the League Two play-offs last season with Mansfield, falling eventually on penalties to Newport County, and has been vying for the number one jersey this term with Austrian Bobby Olejnik, making 25 appearances and keeping six clean sheets.

The Irishman, who knows fellow stopper Adam Smith from their time at Leicester City, is hoping his experience, with more than 200 first-team appearances, will prove important in the second half of the campaign at The New Lawn.

He said: “It’s a new challenge for me, it is something I was excited to get done and over the line.

“I want to get some games and push this club over the line when it comes to promotion.

“There were a couple of possible options and once I knew this was something solid, I was keen to get here.

“I’ve been in and around a lot of teams who have been involved in promotions and play-offs, so anything I can do to bring experience to the table, I will do my best.

“The team is in a good position at this point in the season and deserve a lot of credit for the way they have played this season.”

Logan began his career in England with the Leicester City Academy in 2001, where he went on to make 23 appearances, as well as enjoying loan moves to Boston United, Stockport County and Luton Town as he developed his trade.

It was at Stockport that he helped them to promotion to League One via the play-offs and at the time of his release from Leicester in 2015, he was the club’s longest-serving player.

He joined Scottish club Hibernian in 2016 after a year out of the game and made an immediate impact in the Scottish Cup for them, pulling off a string of superb saves, including two in a penalty shoot-out on debut in the semi-final, going on to lift the trophy with them.

After a return to Rochdale in League One, the Republic of Ireland youth international joined Mansfield in May 2017 and helped them to the play-offs last term, the Stags falling agonisingly shy of automatic promotion on the final day of the season.

He has been handed the number 26 shirt and will be available to Mark Cooper for selection against Macclesfield Town tomorrow subject to FA and EFL approval.

Birmingham City youngster Odin Bailey became Forest Green’s third signing after joining on a loan deal until the end of the season.

The 20-year-old attacking midfielder has been on the club’s radar for some time and having gained first-team experience in the Championship this season, is aiming to kick on during his move to The New Lawn.

Bailey can play in the number 10 position or equally as well in the wide roles on either wing and is looking forward to linking up with fellow Birmingham academy product Dom Bernard.

He said: “I’m lucky it has happened and it is the perfect opportunity for me to go out and get games and go and show what I can do.

“I spoke to Dom before I came and he just gave me a heads up on what the lads are like and they have all made me feel welcome.

“It feels like a good place to be around and from training already, you can already see the style of play and I think it will suit me well.

“I’m an attacking midfielder, I like to get the defenders turned, get at people and make things happen and that is what I base my game around.

“I just need to go and do exactly what I do at Birmingham, go and express myself, go and show everybody what I can do and help the team.”

Birmingham-born, Bailey joined the Blues as an under-seven player and was capped by England at under-15 level.

He has played most of his football for Richard Beale’s under-23 side at St Andrews, and already has a taste for Gloucestershire having gone out on loan to Gloucester City last season.

He made 13 appearances in all competitions, scoring twice, in the National League South.

Bailey joined the first team last summer on their pre-season trip to Portugal and made his debut this season in the EFL Cup against Portsmouth, before making his Championship debut two weeks later in a 2-0 win over Barnsley.

His most memorable contribution came in October, when he came off the bench at St Andrews against Middlesbrough and after seeing the visitors equalise late on, went on to score the winner with an 89th-minute header, watched on by Forest Green head coach Mark Cooper in the stands.

He has been handed the number 42 shirt.

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