Halifax Town sign former West Ham defender in bid to strengthen ahead of Hartlepool United visit
Halifax Town have strengthened their squad with the signing of former West Ham defender Sean Tarima ahead of Saturday's visit of Hartlepool United.
The promotion-chasing Shaymen moved to bolster their ranks with the capture of the young defender last week as they look to cement their place in the National League play-offs.
It's been another strong season for Chris Millington's side, who reached the play-offs last season and are well-placed to do so again following an impressive run of form since the new year. There have been one or two signs of nerves of late and the West Yorkshire side have lost their last two games, but even despite that Halifax have a six-point cushion to eighth-placed Southend.
However, there are concerns that the sale of Halifax's home ground, The Shay, to Huddersfield Giants owner Ken Davy could scupper their chances of another shot at the play-offs. Davy wants the Super League side to play their home matches at the ground while a new stadium is being built for them in Kirklees. The Shaymen already share their home with rugby league side Halifax Panthers; EFL regulations state that "a club sharing with one Rugby League team will be acceptable, but a club seeking to share with a Rugby Union team and a Rugby League team, or two Rugby Union teams, will not." That means Halifax's participation in the play-offs, should they qualify, is in doubt while Millington told the club's official website that injuries and the condition of the playing surface at The Shay were threatening to "derail the season". Goalkeeper and captain Sam Johnson, who has made almost 400 appearances for the Shaymen, was forced off with what is feared to be a serious injury at the weekend.
Tarima, then, arrives at a challenging time as he looks to put the disappointment of being released by West Ham, a club he joined at the under-nine age group, behind him. The young defender was an integral part of the Irons side that cruised to the Under-18 Premier League South title in 2022/23, finishing 17 points clear of their nearest challengers. He also featured in every round as the Hammers won the FA Youth Cup.
Having penned his first professional contract at the London Stadium, Tarima featured 18 times for the development squad and played in EFL Trophy fixtures against Newport and Cheltenham earlier in the season. He was an unused substitute in Saturday's defeat to promotion rivals Oldham but could be in line to make his debut when Halifax travel to relegation-threatened Woking on Tuesday night.