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[Brian Flynn]

Altrincham are delighted to announce the signing of 22-year old Doncaster-born frontrunner Jonny Margetts on a month's loan from Tranmere Rovers.

The one-time Hull City youth academy graduate has only recently returned to Prenton Park after a temporary stay with Stockport County, where, despite their struggles in the Vanarama National League North, he was frequently on the scoresheet.

Indeed, loan spells have tended to be productive for the lively frontrunner.

His first was during his days on Hull's books, when he agreed to help out Gainsborough Trinity and scored a highly-impressive 10 goals in 13 league appearances for them, including a hat-trick in a 6-0 rout of Oxford City.

After adding more firepower to Cambridge United's attack for the final month or so of last season, he had a successful summer trial at Tranmere and was handed a one-year deal, following a run of form during the pre-season programme that prompted a feverish guessing game among Rovers fans.

Wary of alerting other clubs to the dozen trialists under review, Tranmere refused to name them on the team sheet and, instead, gave each one a letter. After banging in four second-half goals in a 7-0 win at Vauxhall Motors, Triallist H's identity became the subject of mounting speculation before finally being revealed on social media.

Scores of Rovers followers posted messages on Margetts' Twitter account, and he eventually came clean by saying: 'Yes, that was me.'
He duly became Tranmere's fifth signing of the summer, and when he was loaned to Stockport towards the end of November, he wasted no time making his mark.

He scored an equaliser against FC United of Manchester at the beginning of December, in a game Stockport went on to lose 2-1, and converted two penalties in a 4-0 win at Corby Town, each after he had been fouled.

A clinical 80th-minute finish at Stalybridge Celtic over Christmas looked like proving decisive and earning under-pressure manager Neil Young some breathing space. Instead, the home side snatched a point with an own-goal leveller in injury-time, and the luckless Young ended up quitting earlier this month.

Even so, no-one could quibble with the impact Margetts made in his time at Edgeley Park, and everyone at The J.Davidson Stadium wishes him well in his quest to have a similar effect on Alty's scoring output.