Andy Dallas leaves Cambridge United for National League side Solihull Moors

Scottish striker Andy Dallas has left Cambridge United for an undisclosed fee, opting to join National League side Solihull Moors.

The 22-year-old started his career with Rangers, signing a professional contract with them in 2016. He was given brief loan spells at Stenhousemuir and Greenock Morton, but failed to break into the Gers’ senior squad upon his return. As a result, he joined then League Two side Cambridge United on a permanent basis in 2019.

His first season at the club was moderately successful, albeit not overly prolific. He scored two league goals in 22 appearances as the U’s slumped to a 16th place finish. Scottish manager Colin Calderwood was subsequently sacked, with Mark Bonner appointed as head coach shortly after. This, coupled with the signings of Paul Mullin and Joe Ironside, saw Dallas drop out of the starting lineup.

A loan spell with National League side Weymouth came about in the second half of the 2020/21 campaign. Dallas went on to score 12 goals in 25 games, igniting interest from the likes of Notts County and Yeovil Town. However, he was seemingly keen to stay at The Abbey, and agreed to sign a new one-year contract with Cambridge in July 2021.

Many were surprised that the striker was left out of the squad for Cambridge’s Carabao Cup tie against Swindon Town, with Bonner subsequently confirming that the club had accepted an offer for him to leave on a permanent basis.

When asked about whether he thought Dallas’ spell at the club had worked out or not, the U’s head coach explained,

“I don’t know. What he’s done is that he’s come in and played quite a few number of games in the early stage, parts of games but never really too many starts. I think he probably left it too late last season to go out on loan but finished the season really strongly.

“I guess in the end you want to chisel out a career for yourself. He’s got himself a really good option if everything comes off.”

A move to Solihull Moors sees Dallas move back to the fifth tier of English football. The West Midlands club famously finished as runners-up in the National League in 2018/19, but have failed to break into the Football League. Former Wimbledon and Notts County boss Neal Ardley is now in charge of the Moors, and his side will now be expected to build on their 11th place finish from last season.

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