Former Chester FC midfielder Kingsley James has signed a deal with National League North rivals Guiseley.
The 26-year-old left the Swansway Chester Stadium earlier this week along with forward Ross Hannah when their contracts were cancelled by mutual consent after a financial agreement with the Blues came to fruition.
The midfielder – who along with Hannah had been the two highest earners at the club – had a spell on loan at Barrow in the National League last season as Chester sought to save money on their outgoings in the midst of their financial crisis.
And James has now penned a deal with Chester’s National League North rivals Guiseley – who were relegated along with the Blues last season – where he will link up with former manager Marcus Bignot, who is a co-boss at Nethermoor alongside Russ O’Neill.
James played 35 times for the Blues in all competitions last season, scoring twice, and joined the club last summer from Macclesfield Town on a two-year deal for a second spell at the Swansway Chester Stadium.
After James and Hannah left the club earlier this week, Blues joint manager Anthony Johnson said: “The reality was that when we came into the building we had two players that were commanding around 40% of our budget between them.
“That was something we knew and we had been trying to work with Ross and Kingsley to help find them something elsewhere.
“They have conducted themselves superbly and they applied themselves well in pre-season training.
“We wish them all the best but it is something that we had to get done in order to make sure we could complete our recruitment for next season.”
Hannah has since joined Evo-Stik Premier side Gainsborough Trinity.
