Evans doing the Samba

One-time wonderkid and latter-day journeyman Cherno Samba is tipped for a return to England as newly-promoted Crawley's spending continues unabated. Currently midway through a two-year deal at Panetolikos, the Gambian forward has expressed a desire to return to his roots and prove his worth to English fans who only remember him as a fantasy football player.

Samba, who burst onto the scene as a schoolboy at Millwall, attracted serious interest from heavyweights such as Liverpool and Manchester United with the former going as far as to offer £2 million for his services. This offer was ultimately spurned and from then on Samba's slide to modern day obscurity, eschewed only by misty-eyed flashbacks to a time when he stood in the pantheon of Championship Manager legends, began. A move to Spain in an attempt to resurrect his career and tap into his potential came about when Cadiz came calling for his services. Sadly, this move failed to reignite the player who was arguably already on the wane and he spent the full 2005-2006 season on loan at Malaga B.

A move back to the UK came about when he was snapped up on a free transfer by Ian Holloway, the man with the Midas touch who has discovered the likes of Charlie Adam and Matt Phillips, to supplement his Plymouth Argyle squad in August 2006. A goal just eight minutes into his debut offered the tantalising hope that in fact Samba was a late bloomer and the uneventful years that had passed in between his rise to prominence and his move to Devon were an anomaly. Sadly this was not to be and his time in the south-west passed without event or further goals and led the forward to pastures new, this time to FC Haka in Finland where he signed an 18-month deal in August 2008; 2009 brought trials at Norwich and Portsmouth without concrete interest and eventually led to Samba moving to his most recent employers, Greek club Panetolikos.

It is thought that Samba would welcome a move back to England and the bearpit of League Two action because he feels that he has unfinished business to resolve. A source close to the player said "although it's fair to say that Cherno maybe hasn't fulfilled the potential that brought sustained interest from some of the biggest clubs in the land, he does believe that he still has the abilities and talent to play as high up as the Championship. Crawley are clearly a club going places and it would seem that they are a perfect fit - a hungry young man with a point to prove and a club that has its sights on upward mobility."