Ben Garrity of Port Vale has been given four games suspension for…

The 24-year-old, who spent a season on loan at Oldham Athletic, exercised his option to extend his contract with the recently promoted Championship team Blackpool.

However, League Two clubs continued to pursue him, and Vale was the first to show up in queue.

Following the two-year contract arrival of defensive midfielder Brad Walker, who was released by Shrewsbury Town, he becomes the second signing of the week and of the Darrell Clarke era.

“We are thrilled to bring Ben to Port Vale. He is a young, hungry, and ambitious footballer,” Clarke stated. He’s very fit and energetic, and I view him as an attacking number eight who can play the box-to-box role.

“He had a great season at Oldham personally, and I think he still has more goals in him. We are thrilled to have him sign, and we’re looking forward to working with him during the preseason and beyond to help Ben continue to grow.

He was playing Sunday league football in Liverpool in 2018 before being taken on by Warrington Town, where he quickly proved to be a cut above the level he was playing at, scoring 19 goals in 79 appearances.

Garrity said: “Every week I’ll be giving my all no matter what, I’ll be all over the pitch, I want a good season and I want to get enough wins to be up there.”

Vale are in line for a busy summer after Clarke, who took charge in February and guided the club to 13th in League Two, released 15 players at the end of the season.