Bury Town make first summer additions with arrival of Ally Conway from Newmarket Town and Stowmarket Town’s George Quantrell

Two new players have agreed to join Bury Town as the club ramps up preparations for their return to Step 3 football.

The promoted Blues have added Ally Conway from neighbouring Newmarket Town, while another attack-minded midfielder – George Quantrell – will make a sideways move from fellow Southern League Premier Central Division outfit Leiston.

Conway caught the eye of Bury’s coaching staff during their two matches against the Jockeys last term.

He scored 16 goals during Newmarket’s promotion-winning campaign of 2023/24 and added a further seven more as they retained their Isthmian League North Division status.

Assistant Paul Musgrove said: “Ally offers us some flexibility. He can play in a few different roles and he’s a player that can adapt well whatever you ask from him.

“He can take the ball under pressure, he’s got an eye for goal and he’s tenacious – those are all things that we look for in a player.

“Cole (Skuse, manager) and I were impressed with him in the two games we played against them and Mark (Jolland, coach) saw him two or three more times. He’s a name we all marked down because as well working with the players we have, our role is to continually look at players we think could improve us.

“We’re delighted Ally has agreed to join and I’m sure he’ll fit straight in.”

Quantrell, meanwhile, is well known to Musgrove from their time together at Stowmarket Town.

The 22-year-old, who was once part of the Norwich City academy, enjoyed a stellar season last time out for Leiston.

Quantrell scored a total of 19 goals from a midfield position and he also showed his creative side by weighing in with a further 11 assists to help Leiston record a 10th-placed finish.

“George is someone I’ve always kept in contact with since Stowmarket,” added Musgrove.

“He’s someone that wants to play at the highest level he can and now we’re in the same league as Leiston, that became option and something we were keen to look at.

“He had a great season last season and now he’s excited for a new challenge.

“He’s only 22 and has aspirations of playing at a higher level, so hopefully that’s something we can help him with.”

There is likely to be further incomings at the Getaway Cars Stadium before the new season gets underway.

But, with a large number of the previous term’s squad having committed to life at Step 3, Musgrove is not anticipating it to be a large number.

“We’re still looking and maybe we’ll see one or two more come in,” he said.

“We’re working hard but just because we’re now at Step 3, it doesn’t mean our pool of players to look at has got much bigger.

“Cole has put a big emphasis on making sure we not only get the right players, but also the right characters.

“We’re going into a lot of detail with every potential new signing because we have to make sure they’re right for us on the pitch and as part of the squad.”

Over the last week, the likes of Taylor Parr, Josh Curry, Mikey Davis, Ryan Horne, Max Maughn, Joe Carroll and Harley Curtis have all been announced by the club as retained players.