RISING football star Joe Lolley has seen his meteoric rise into professional football continue after signing for Championship side Huddersfield Town last week.

The 21-year-old, who was based in Wychbold, completed a transfer from Skrill Premier side Kidderminster Harriers thought to be in the region of £250,000.

It is believed the deal could be worth up to half a million pounds with a host of add-ons.

It marks an incredible journey from the tenth tier of English club football to the second tier in the space of 12 months.

Lolley, who lived in Redditch until the age of 15, was studying at the University of Central Lancashire and playing for Midland Combination side Littleton, where he scored 88 goals in 83 matches.

His success caught the eye of Harriers and also earned him a place on the British Universities football squad which reached the final of the World Summer Games last year.

Lolley made an immediate impact in pre-season for Kidderminster when he marked his appearance as a substitute at Chasetown with an eye-catching hat-trick.

Kidderminster immediately signed him up and despite playing six levels higher, he soon acclimatised to the Conference Premier.

Lolley soon made his presence felt with a series of dazzling displays and began to generate interest from scouts from Football League clubs.

Lolley scored 11 goals in 19 starts and left Aggborough as joint top scorer.

He ensured his place as a Harriers legend last Tuesday, scoring a dramatic winner as the Skrill Premier minnows stunned League One Peterborough to win 3-2 at London Road during a dramatic FA Cup third-round tie.

Lolley got his first taste of the Championship on Saturday when he was an unused substitute for the Terriers in their 3-2 loss to QPR.

But Harriers striker Michael Gash has tipped the youngster to make the leap into the Championship successfully.

In recent years the likes of Jamie Vardy and Steve Morison have proved there is plenty of talent in non-league.

He said: “He’s come to us as a very young lad on trial and he’s improved, improved, improved.

“There’s been numerous scouts watching him and I believe he can go to the very top.

“In terms of coming out of the Conference, I’d put him up there with the likes of (Leicester City’s) Jamie Vardy and (Millwall and previously Norwich striker) Steve Morison.”