Whitehawk have added Barnet midfielder Ahmed Abdulla to their ranks ahead of the new Conference south season.

The 22-year-old Saudi Arabian midfielder came through the youth ranks at Arsenal before joining West Ham at 16 and going on to sign a professional contract with the Hammers.

He also had loan spells at Swindon Town and Dagenham and Redbridge before joining Barnet in 2012.

Abdulla played for Whitehawk in their recent pre-season friendly at Lewes when his produced an outstanding performance.

His display caught the eye of a number of clubs and Hawks boss Steven King has had to work hard to secure his signature.

King said: “Ahmed is a great footballer. He has had a decent upbringing coming through Arsenal and West Ham, then spending time at Swindon and playing 30 times for Barnet last year.

“He sits in the midfield and will complement what we already have here with Sergio Torres and Sam Deering also signing.

“It is another piece in the jigsaw which is coming together slowly.”

King looked at a number of players in Wednesday's 2-0 win at Bognor including former Albion pair Albert Jarrett and John Sullivan plus experienced ex-England C international Anthony Charles who played for Conference premier champions Luton Town last season.

Jarrett played 25 games for Albion after being spotted playing in a friendly for Lewes – then managed by King – in 2004. After spells at Watford, Gillingham, Barnet and Lincoln, the Sierre Leone international winger later returned to the Dripping Pan in King's second spell at the club.

He is currently a free agent, having last played for Bromley.

Goalkeeper Sullivan is also currently without a club after leaving Portsmouth at the end of last season.

Whitehawk signed former Crystal Palace and Macclesfield goalkeeper Lance Cronin this summer but he is sidelined with a foot injury sustained at work.

Sullivan, who played 18 first team games for Albion after making his debut in 2008, could prove a solution to the club's goalkeeper situation but King is still to speak in depth to the player.

Charles, 33, has played for Barnet, Aldershot, Northampton and Plymouth before spending last season at Luton. He began pre-season at Whitehawk before leaving to deal with personal issues but appeared in the win at Bognor on Wednesday.

King confirmed he is still looking at both Jarrett and Charles but will not pursue a deal for right-back Chris Palmer who has played more than 200 Football League games for Notts County, Wycombe, Walsall, Gillingham and Burton.

Palmer was another to appear at Nyewood Lane but King is now turning his attention elsewhere for new faces.

So far King has made eight signings in Abdulla, Torres, Deering, Cronin, Paul Lorraine, Osei Sankofa, Serge Makofo and Pa Saikou Kujabi, who scored the second goal at Bognor.

With just five players retained from last season, the squad is still short on numbers but King plans to address that ahead of next Saturday's Conference south opener at home to Staines Town.

Whitehawk will conclude their pre-season preparations at home to Dulwich Hamlet today.