Port Vale are delighted to announce the signing of Louis Dodds from Chesterfield on a season-long loan.

Dodds joins the Valiants following a two year spell away from Vale Park following his departure in 2016.

Since leaving Burslem, Dodds failed to nail down a place in the starting XI for Shrewsbury Town who were defeated in last years League One Play-Off final against Rotherham United.

He spent the latter half of last season at the Spireites and made only 12 appearances in a season that saw the Derbyshire club suffer relegation for the second season running and dumped out of the Football League.

Upon speaking to the Club following his return, the Midfielder said: “I’m absolutely buzzing. This was the only club that I wanted to come back to and I am grateful to the manager and chairman for making it happen.

“It was very strange coming back and playing against Vale because it is a club that I feel that I shouldn’t be playing against really.”

Dodds will link up again with Tom Pope and both were integral in the club’s promotion push in 2013 and is eager to link up with the big man once again: “I love playing with Tom, I think that we work quite well. We both have a footballing brain but we may not have the speed that some teams have got but you don’t always need that in partnerships.

“I’ll have to get my sleep, because I will be doing all of Popey’s running again,” he joked.

After another summer full of change at Vale Park, Dodds will meet his new teammates as they are due back in training next week.