Sutton United Football Club can confirm the departure of Alex Woodyard on loan, who joins Isthmian League Premier Division side Folkestone Invicta until the end of the season.

The Seasiders currently sit at the summit of the seventh tier, maintaining a remarkable 12-point gap on second place Brentwood Town despite a winless last three games, having gone on a 12-match unbeaten run in the league between October and December.

Woodyard adds a wealth of experience to the promotion-chasing Stripes side, having originally signed for Sutton from Colchester United last January.

The midfielder has gone on to appear 22 times for the U’s, but has struggled with an injury-hit 2025/26 campaign after a promising start to life at the VBS Community Stadium, with an ongoing knee problem plaguing his season and restricting him to just five appearances so far this term.

As a result, Woodyard is set to drop down to Step Three in an attempt to regain consistent minutes for a highflying outfit, joining an Invicta side who have tasted defeat just three times all season.

The 31-year old previously came through the ranks at Charlton Athletic before moving to Southend United at the age of 16, making his professional debut the same year. He would go on to make three appearances by the time he turned 17 and later gained experience out on loan at Farnborough and Braintree Town, the latter preceding a period back at Southend in which he won successive Player of the Month awards in October and November 2012.

Further stints at Dartford and Concord Rangers preceded a return to Braintree before joining Lincoln City, where he wo promotion back to the Conference as well as playing a part in the Imps’ historic run to the FA Cup Quarter-Final, before joining Peterborough United in 2018.

Spells at AFC Wimbledon and York City followed for the midfielder, before he opted to switch to Colchester in order to reunite with manager Danny Cowley, with whom he worked with at Concord, Braintree and Lincoln, prior to his switch to Sutton after just half-a-season back in Essex.

Good luck, Woody!

We can also confirm that Jaiden White and Siju Odelusi have both returned to Sutton following the conclusions of their loan spells at Hereford and Dover Athletic respectively, while Omari Mrisho has left the club after his month-long loan spell from Huddersfield Town came to an end.

White appeared a handful of times during his second spell with Hereford, including sending them to the Fourth Round of the Isuzu FA Trophy with the decisive spot-kick in a shootout win over Radcliffe, and in total spent two months back at Edgar Street after enjoying a successful 2024/25 campaign with the Bulls.

Odelusi meanwhile became a regular fixture in the Dover team after seeing his one-month deal extended until January, having originally joined back in October, and has appeared 11 times for a Whites side who currently sit 14th in the National League South.

Finally, Mrisho returns to West Yorkshire having appearing three times for Sutton during a brief stint at Gander Green Lane. He made his debut in the U’s 4-1 defeat to Solihull Moors shortly before Christmas, before playing 45 minutes against Aldershot Town and 22 minutes against Southend United in what was his first professional loan away from the League One side.

We would like to wish Omari all the best for the future.