Jake Nicholson has played his last game for St Albans City, according to joint manager James Gray.

The former West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder joined the club at the end of February and made three appearances, all losses, against Wealdstone, Concord Rangers and Boreham Wood.

He agreed to play for free because the club had no money. It sounded too good to be true for City, and it was. The 22-year-old left the club this week.

Gray said: “The situation where he was playing for free became an issue because he was travelling from Surrey. We had to tell him that our position hadn’t changed; we have no money.”

Last week, they signed former Chesham United captain Simon Thomas, who made his debut on Saturday. The move, said Gray, was completely different.

“We moved some funds around to get Tommo but he was a player we desperately needed,” he said. “Jake did well but he’s similar to players we have. I wouldn’t expect to see him back. I’ll talk to him but he’s done at St Albans, for this season anyway.”