Tranmere Rovers striker James Alabi has become Leyton Orient’s second summer signing, with the 23-year-old moving to the O’s on a two-year-contract.

Alabi joins for an undisclosed fee after a frustrating campaign with Tranmere, which saw him farmed out on loan at Dover for the second half of the season, where he largely played out of position.

The Guardian Series was told yesterday that the striker was scheduled to hold informal talks with the club, although it was stressed that Alabi was one of a number of targets Orient were talking to.

However, the O’s have acted quickly to get their man, with Alabi agreeing terms in a matter of hours after Justin Edinburgh and Martin Ling agreed that the 23-year-old was a player they wanted to bring to the Breyer Group Stadium.

The striker came through the ranks at Stoke City and after loan spells at Scunthorpe United, Mansfield Town as well as Forest Green Rovers, he moved to Ipswich Town in August 2015.

He left the Tractor Boys in January 2016 and joined Chester in the National League where he would enjoy the most prolific season of his career during the 2016/17 campaign, scoring 17 times in 42 appearances, helping the Blues secure a 19th place finish.

That form earnt him a move to Tranmere Rovers last summer but Alabi made just nine appearances before being loaned out to Dover Athletic, where he scored once but was played out wide by manager Chris Kinnear.

Following Tranmere’s promotion to the Football League, Alabi has now moved to Brisbane Road where he will be looking to alleviate some of the pressure from last season’s top scorer Macauley Bonne and help fire the O’s back to League 2.

Alabi becomes Orient’s second summer signing after former Stevenage midfielder Dale Gorman penned a two-year-contract with the club almost two weeks ago.

The striker, who will wear the number 27 shirt, told Leyton Orient's website: “I’m buzzing to get it over the line. It was an easy decision for me and I can’t wait to get going. My ambition is to get as many goals as I can, and the biggest ambition for me is to get this club promoted back to the Football League."

Head coach Justin Edinburgh added: “He’s got a lot of attributes that you look for in a new signing. First and foremost, his work ethic is excellent, while physical attributes are a big positive. He’s got pace and power and is a good finisher. 



“The Club were interested in signing him last season but I believe the fee got in the way so when we were made aware of his availability, we jumped at the chance. We saw off a lot of competition to sign him and once I had met with him face-to-face, I had no hesitations."