Sam Folarin becomes the sixth player to join the ranks at Gander Green Lane ahead of the 2026/27 season, making the switch to Sutton following his release from Hartlepool United.

Here’s everything you need to know about the electric forward and his story so far…

Name: Sam Folarin

Age: 25

Position: Forward

Former Clubs: Wandsworth Town (youth), Tooting & Mitcham United, Middlesbrough, Queen of the South (loan), Harrogate Town, Hartlepool United, Chelmsford City (loan)

South Londoner

Sam Folarin’s roots took place in South London, having begun his career in the youth ranks at Wandsworth Town.

Born in Lambeth, the forward joined the club in 2013 in his early teens and spent four years with his local side, becoming his first structured club environment before he moved into more competitive non-league setups, and was a key part of his foundation stage where he developed his pace and wide defensive qualities.

A move to Tooting & Mitcham United followed for the 25-year old, then still a teenager, spending the 2017/18 season in the club’s academy. From there, he rose into the first team and gained his first opportunity at senior football with a side who were newly crowned champions of the Isthmian League Division One South in 2016/17, breaking out in 2018/19 with a handful of appearances as a right wing-back.

Folarin’s form at Imperial Fields began to draw attention for a host of league clubs, with trials at Charlton Athletic and Middlesbrough giving him the opportunity to shine at a much larger scale. While the Addicks opted against bringing him across South London, the Teesside-based outfit, whose Head of Academy recruitment Martin Carter had struck up a good relationship with the Terrors, snapped him up after attending a Tooting match to watch Isaiah Jones, leading to the discovery of not just the current Luton Town forward but also his teammate – Folarin – who joined Boro’s Under-18s while still only 17-years old.

Time Up North

Folarin was still a teenager when he was offered a deal at Boro in 2019 – the move incredibly exciting but also daunting – leaving friends, family, childhood memories and the club that provided so much for him. Less than 18 months after joining the club though, the young winger caught Neil Warnock’s eye in the Under-23 ranks at Rockliffe, earning not just a spot on the bench for the first team but a new and improved contract.

He had begun life on Teesside as a midfielder before being switched to a winger as a result of one of the coaches, Jordan Wilson, identifying his directness, speed and ball manipulation. Folarin’s form for the youth team led to scouts from Chelsea scouts circling, and was followed by Boro throwing into the deep end in an Under-23s match, before being afforded a handful of cameos within the first team where he showed his ability at senior level.

After being named on the bench in an EFL Cup First Round tie against Shrewsbury Town, he later made his debut against Barnsley in the following round with a 21-minute cameo, replacing Ashley Fletcher in a last gasp attempt to salvage a result in what proved to be a 2-0 defeat. He went on to make his league debut later that year, playing a little under half-an-hour in the Championship against Norwich City, before coming on again as a late substitute away at Stoke City the following month. Folarin then notched his first goal in what proved to be his final appearance for Boro – a 2-1 FA Cup defeat to Brentford – cancelling out Halil Dervisoglu’s opener with a low shot from close range after he had latched on to Patrick Roberts’ shot.

Fast forward a year, and the forward departed on loan until the end of the 2021/22 campaign, moving across the border to join Scottish Championship side Queen of the South, again following the path of Jones, to play seven times for the Doonhamers, in all struggling to make too big of an impact as they were relegated, while his injury issues limited his game-time and was followed by a permanent exit from the Riverside Stadium in search of regular first team football.

Injuries had certainly scuppered and disrupted his progress to this point, but a three-year stint at Harrogate Town gave him that opportunity, linking up with the League Two club to forge his senior career, and saw him rack up almost 100 appearances for the Sulphurites, gaining a knack for scoring some spectacular goals during his time there.

The forward notched 15 in total, including opening his 2023/24 account with two eye-catching long-range strikes that proved decisive in victories over Colchester United and Carlisle United, along with braces against Accrington Stanley and Marine during the same season. He subsequently signed a contract extension in the summer of 2024, but after appearing just twice for Simon Weaver’s side he opted to depart on a permanent basis in order to join Hartlepool United, dropping into non-league for the first time since departing Tooting, and going on to play 34 times for the Poolies.

His Hartlepool highlight was without a doubt his late winner against Ebbsfleet United, meeting Reyes Cleary’s delivery and directing it home in the fourth minute of stoppage time to rescue all three points, but in all he struggled to nail down a regular starting spot during his time in County Durham, and led to a temporary return down south last term, joining Chelmsford City on loan, scoring twice in 12 National League South games.

Speedster

Folarin’s pace is without a doubt one of if not his greatest strength, having been described as one of the quickest – if not the quickest – footballers outside of English football’s top two tiers at the start of 2025. On his day he is a lightning fast force to be reckoned with, as well as being a player with a huge amount of raw potential.

His ability was there for all to see, albeit perhaps in flashes, during his time at Harrogate, with his League Two debut against Salford City in September 2022 a prime example of what Folarin was capable of. His pace was on show straight away as he excited Town supporters and created plenty of opportunities for both himself and his teammates, and Simon Weaver even described him as an Olympic sprinter off the back of his debut, being a player with pace to burn and is a crucial tool that he uses to create chances.

He subsequently begun to deliver on a more regular basis in 2023/24, contributing eight goals and three assists in 27 matches before a hamstring injury ruled him out for the best part of three months. The pick of the bunch was without a doubt a brilliant long-range strike to seal all three points ten minutes from time against Colchester United, showing neat footwork to make space for a shot before unleashing a powerful effort that flew into the top corner in October 2023, before notching three goals come January 2025, making him Harrogate’s top scorer at the time. The first arrived as Town upset League One side Lincoln City in the Carabao Cup First Round, before sending a powerful header into the back of the net four days later and in dramatic fashion, salvaging a late point away at Accrington Stanley.

The following Saturday, he benefited from a horrific defensive mix-up to net the only goal of the game as Harrogate won ugly at Colchester United, establishing a range of different types of goals he is capable of scoring, whether that’s in the air, getting beyond the last man or being alert enough to anticipate and pounce on a loose ball, something he repeated with his last minute winner at home to Ebbsfleet whilst at Hartlepool, taking advantage of a deflected clearance from Elijah Anthony to head home at the death from close range.

Following this, the fleet-footed forward subsequently made a bright start to life in Essex after joining Chelmsford on loan from the Pools, bagging a brace during a thumping win away at Tonbridge Angels in early November, and will certainly offer pace, powerful, athleticism, dynamism and electricity to his new side, perfectly complimenting fellow new recruits Temi Babalola and Charlie Carter.