Port Vale have confirmed the capture of former defender Connor Hall for an undisclosed fee from League Two rivals Colchester United.
The 31-year-old is Darren Moore’s seventh signing of the summer, as he bolsters his squad ahead of the 2024/2025 League Two campaign.
Hall’s career so far
Hall began his career with Bury Town in the Isthmian League in 2011 and made 74 appearances during his four-year stay. In 2015, he spent a short time with St Neots Town before returning to Bury Town for his second spell at the club.
In 2016, the defender signed for Biggleswade Town and spent two seasons at the club. Ahead of the 2018/2019 season, Hall moved to Brackley Town who at the time were in the National League North, and went on to make 38 appearances for the club.
His climb up the football pyramid didn’t stop there, as he signed for Harrogate Town in 2019.
Hall was a part of the Harrogate squad that achieved promotion to League Two in the 2019/2020 season.
The 32-year-old then spent a further one and a half seasons with Harrogate, accumulating 105 appearances during his time with the club as well as five goals.
In January 2022, he was sold to Port Vale and helped the club gain promotion out of League Two through the play-offs.
The following January, he was sold to Colchester United for an undisclosed fee and spent a season and a half with the club.
He now rejoins Port Vale ahead of the 2024/2025 League Two campaign for his second spell with the club.
What will Hall bring to Port Vale?
Hall will bring a wealth of experience to the Port Vale side. The 6’4ft defender has made 259 career appearances, with 146 of them coming at League Two level.
As well as this, the Englishman has had two career promotions, one with Harrogate Town and the other coming with The Valiants back in the 2021/2022 season.
This experience is vital to a promotion contending side as players with experience of promotion know what it takes to compete.
Hall having done this twice, will be an extremely key piece of the puzzle to Port Vale mounting a promotion charge back into League One
Hall is also a physical presence in the back line. Standing at 6’4ft, the defender will be able to compete aerially which is a useful attribute to have in League Two, due to a lot of teams using a long ball method.
Being very comfortable on the ball and even having the ability to step into a midfield role when needed will be a welcomed asset for Port Vale.
It is key for a modern-day League Two footballer to have this blend due to the variety of styles used by teams.