SET DEAL; World class super star joins Rochdale AFC on Loan

Tommy McDermott joins Rochdale AFC on Loan

Port Vale FC can confirm that midfielder, Tommy McDermott, has joined National League side, Rochdale AFC, on loan until January 2024.

Academy graduate McDermott, 18, signed his first professional contract with the club in the summer of 2022 and went on to make a handful of senior appearances for the First Team in the season that followed.

He would then go on to join Salisbury FC on a short-term loan alongside fellow Academy graduate, James Plant, earning plaudits for his performances throughout his time with the Whites.

Speaking of Tommy McDermott’s loan move to Rochdale AFC, Port Vale FC Manager, Andy Crosby, said:

“This loan is part of Tommy’s pathway to continue to grow and develop, he is at the age now where he is a first-year pro and it’s important that he gets the game time to continue his development as a player.

“He is going to go to a really well-run football club, a football club with a really good manager with a style of play that Tommy will fit into at a really good level.

“Hopefully, Tommy can get consistent game time that he needs and fit into the way that Rochdale wants to do things whilst we can keep a really close eye on how he is developing.”

The club would like to wish Tommy the best of luck in his time with Jimmy McNulty’s Rochdale AFC.

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He scored seven goals in 47 appearances for Dale during an 18-month stay at the club, after joining from Solihull Moors in January 2022.

Ball is the 10th new player to move to Johnnie Jackson’s Wimbledon since the end of last season.

“Myself and the manager had a couple of calls and he expressed what he wants to see from the team. Everything he said fitted with my game and what I want to do this season,” Ball told the club website.

“Moving forwards in terms of position has been a natural progression. I’ve became a goalscoring midfielder over time and that’s what I pride myself on. I’m big, I’m physical and I like getting in the box.”