Southend United have won the race to sign Salford City striker Marcus Dackers on loan, as confirmed by journalist Pete O’Rourke.
The 21-year-old has already had a spell in the National League with Altrincham so far this season, including scoring on his debut against Solihull Moors and now looks destined to join Kevin Maher’s side shortly.
Dackers has made 16 appearances in all competitions for both Salford City and Altrincham this season, scoring twice so far but will be expected to add to that moving into the second half of the season.
The forward is a product of the Brighton Hove Albion youth setup before switching to Salford City in July 2021. He’s had a series of Non-League loan moves so far with the likes of Woking, Chester and Altrincham as well as a brief stint with Southend during the 2022/23 season.
During his first spell at Roots Hall, Dackers scored three goals in six matches which is the best spell of his career so far in terms of goals-to-game ratio and he’ll be expected to continue that as Southend United aim to push towards the playoff places in the National League this season.
Currently, Southend United are 15th in the table following their earlier points deduction, ten points off the playoff places and just four above the relegation zone. The club suffered back-to-back losses against Barnet before bouncing back with a strong 3-0 win against FC Halifax Town.
Dackers’ contract is set to expire at the end of the season and is set to be their newest recruit after their embargo was lifted with Henry Sandat, Adam Crowther and James Morton already joining the football club.
Writer’s View
Dackers had an enjoyable spell with Altrincham this season but was always stuck facing strong competition from the likes of Regan Linney and Dior Angus.
However, Southend United only have Sandat and Harry Cardwell, exposing Dackers to more game time and potentially a permanent move futher down the line.