Rochdale AFC is delighted to announce that Ryan East has signed a permanent deal with the club.
The midfielder has penned an 18-month deal, joining from Bradford City after the two clubs reached a transfer agreement.
East initially signed on loan from the League Two side in August and has been an ever-present for Dale since then, making 24 appearances and scoring four times.
Upon signing permanently, he said:
“I’m delighted. It was an easy decision to commit my future here. I’ve loved every second since I arrived.
“The gaffer has shown a lot of faith in me, and I’ve really enjoyed playing in front of the fans. It was a very easy decision.
“When I first signed, we had a conversation within the first few weeks about making this possible.
“Obviously, at the time, I was just focusing on playing football and playing my best for the club.
“I kind of put it to the back of my mind, but certainly in the last month or so it’s been a heavy topic and something that I wanted to get done.”
East made his debut in our third match of the season at Woking and has started every single Dale match since that night.
In recent weeks, the 25-year-old has played a slightly more advanced role in Jimmy McNulty’s side, which has seen him notch four goals, including a double at home to Altrincham last month.
He was also voted as the Dale Supporters Trust November Player of the Month.
We would like to issue a special thank you to the Dale Trust, who have partly financed the permanent signing of Ryan.
This forms the first donation to the Squad Boost Fund initiative, which will give supporters the opportunity to contribute funds directly to the First Team playing budget, over and above what was set out at the start of the season.
More details on the initiative will be made public in the near future.
It’s great to have you permanently, Easty! Watch an interview with him below via our official YouTube channel.