Mussa Magic might be the big difference

It was in December 2021 that Torquay United beat Weymouth 2-1 in the National League at the Bob Lucas Stadium with goals by Joe Lewis and Sinclair Armstrong.

They’ve both done pretty well for themselves.

Sold to Stockport County for £50,000, defender Lewis then cost at least twice that fee when he joined AFC Wimbledon.

Striker Armstrong, on loan from Queen’s Park Rangers at the time, has just signed for Bristol City for a reported £3 million.

But no one on the pitch at Weymouth that day impressed more than a man in a Terras shirt, midfielder Omar Moussa.

Up and down the pitch, he gave United problems all afternoon and Gulls manager Gary Johnson wasted no time trying to sign him soon afterwards.

Weymouth shook their heads then, and by the time Johnson had another go at the end of the season, the word had got around.

United could not compete as Dagenham & Redbridge beat off competition to pay an undisclosed fee for Mussa.

There were plenty of clubs who would have liked to sign him this summer, but a fortunate set of circumstances, including a girlfriend who is living and working in Exeter, helped Gulls manager Paul Wotton to persuade the Belgian-born player that Plainmoor is the place for him.

It can’t also have done any harm that chairman Mike Westcott is a fluent French speaker.

Mussa, who’ll be 24 in a fortnight’s time, began his career with leading Belgian club KV Mechelen, winning Under-18 caps before trying his luck in England with Walsall.

Moves to Dover, Weymouth and Dagenham followed, plus a couple of games for the land of his parents, Burundi, and now United fans have been more than impressed by what they’ve seen of him in pre-season.

For the most part, Wotton has been true to the policy he announced when he was unveiled as United’s new manager in May.

Wotton said then that his priority was to sign players to get United out of the NL South first and then think about higher goals if, or hopefully when, promotion is achieved.

The big majority of his summer recruits are, like him, tried and proven in the NLS.

As a result, don’t expect too many airs and graces from United this season. If Wotton has to lean towards substance instead of style, he won’t hesitate.

But if any of his new charges is capable of bringing what Johnson would call a touch of stardust to the show, it might well be Mussa.