Justin Edinburgh has praised the signing of James Alabi and believes the striker will prove himself to be a ‘real coup’ for Leyton Orient.

Alabi joined the O’s for an undisclosed fee from Tranmere Rovers two weeks ago, with the striker putting pen-to-paper on a two-year contract at the Breyer Group Stadium.

The 23-year-old moves to East London following a difficult season with Tranmere, which saw him play nine times before being farmed out on loan to Dover Athletic, where he was largely deployed in an unfamiliar role out wide.

However, Alabi has proven that he can cause problems at National League level after scoring 17 times for Chester during the 2016/17 campaign, and it didn’t take long for the 23-year-old to get off the mark for Orient, scoring in his first appearance during Saturday’s friendly at Harlow Town.

While Macauley Bonne found the back of the net 25 times in all competitions last season, the O’s top scorer lacked support from Orient’s other strikers, with the likes of David Mooney, Matt Harrold and loanee Dan Holman only scoring 12 times between them during the campaign.

As a result, Edinburgh believes Alabi will prove himself to be a shrewd acquisition due to the qualities he will bring to the squad.

Orient’s head coach said: “In James Alabi, he gives us everything that we look for. His work ethic is fantastic as well as his physical attributes and his pace and he knows where the goal is. He’s done it at this level. I don’t think James has a point to prove. He’s just looking to make up for lost time after last season so I think we’ve had a real coup in making that signing.”

The former Tranmere Rovers striker was the O’s second summer signing after Orient completed a move for midfielder Dale Gorman last month following his release from Stevenage.

Gorman also signed a two-year contract at Brisbane Road having made 71 appearances in all competitions during his time at the Lamex Stadium, after making his debut for the League Two side in August 2015.

The former Northern Ireland U21 international replaces Ebou Adams in the squad, after the former Norwich City midfielder decided to join National League rivals Ebbsfleet United earlier this summer, despite enjoying a successful six month loan spell in East London last season.

Edinburgh refused to be drawn on Adams, who scored once in 20 appearances for the O’s last campaign, but believes Orient have secured an adequate replacement in the shape of Gorman.

On Adams’ decision to join Ebbsfleet, Edinburgh said: “I never get too up or too down. It’s the player’s decision. Ebou did well for us while he was here. I wish him all the best and we’ve moved on. I feel that we’ve got an adequate replacement in Dale Gorman and I think the fans will see that.

“Dale is a tenacious, modern-day midfielder. He’s got all the components that you want from a midfielder and at the age of 20, he was captain of Stevenage and that just tells you everything you need to know about a young player. If he has been trusted to lead a team at that tender age in the Football League then I don’t think I need to say anything more about him really.”