New Chesterfield striker Lee Bonis 'excited' about 'new start'

The 25-year-old striker has joined from Dutch second division side ADO Den Haag for an undisclosed fee. The forward, who has been capped by Northern Ireland, has an excellent goalscoring record for Portadown, Larne and Den Haag.

He said: “It is great to be a part of the club. I am happy to be here. I have had my time away from home so I think a new start back in England will be good for me.”

The Spireites lost out in the play-offs last season but they will be aiming for automatic promotion this time around when the campaign gets underway on August 2. For Bonis, his individual aim is to score as many goals as possible, with crosses into the box being his favourite route to finding the back of the net.

He continued: “This team has a style of football where they want to play and go forward constantly. I will be looking for crosses after crosses. I am excited to be pushing for promotion this season. I am excited to get going. I have heard from other people about the gaffer about the things that he does and the way that he plays and they have said I will enjoy it.”

Bonis has spent the last year in Holland with Den Haag, netting 11 times. On that experience, he said: “It was different. Obviously the lifestyle is a big change. But it was nice to see a new culture and learn different things and a different style of football as well. It was a big risk and a challenge but I think you have got to relish that and I really enjoyed my time there.”

Bonis is a Northern Ireland international, making his debut last year, and he wants to get even more opportunities with his national side.

He added: “It is an achievement that I will relish forever and I will be forever grateful. I just want to build on that now and hopefully I can kick-on and score goals at club level.”