CARDIFF Met University manager Christian Edwards says signing former Hereford captain Joel Edwards is 'a real capture' for the club.

The 25-year-old captain - who led the Bulls to six trophies in two seasons as well as a Wembley final appearance - made his debut for the Welsh Premier League side last Saturday.

Edwards played just under an hour in the 1-1 draw.

Christian Edwards said he was first made aware of the defender after talking to Martin Longworth, who is from Hereford and is a coach at the Welsh club.

"He said Joel had been released and was looking for a club, so I spoke to Joel and listened to his intentions," said Edwards.

"I know he has his own coaching business, so we spoke to him potentially coming to the university and studying a sports coaching degree.

"He will join us next season with regards to studying at the university and it allows him to play for us."

The Cardiff Met boss added that he knows what Edwards brings to the table and his signing is a 'real capture' for the club.

"I have done my digging around regarding Joel," he said.

"I spoke to Steve Jenkins at Hereford, who said he was unlucky to be released and was a very good player.

"I know the history behind Joel and his captaincy of Hereford and I also spoke to Gareth Davies, who also gave Joel some huge praise.

"So he is a real capture for ourselves and one that will very much add to the squad.

"He is very authoritative in possession and very calm and relaxed.

"You can definitely see his leadership qualities.

"He just adds strength to the squad and someone of his ability, experience and stature adding to our enthusiastic young squad can only bode well for us."

Cardiff Met finished sixth in the Welsh Premier League last season following promotion and narrowly missed out on a Europea League qualification place after losing to Bangor City in a play-off.

Christian Edwards confirmed that players can apply for scholarships should the university feel they deserve one.

"It's not a great amount of money, but it helps students along with their studies, so I'm sure if Joel keeps on playing as he does, he will no doubt warrant one," said Edwards.