Former Barnsley, Portsmouth and Doncaster Rovers winger snapped up by club in sixth tier

The 31-year-old recently returned to English football with Stalybridge Celtic and last week jumped two divisions to link up with Rushall in the National League North.

He said: “I’m very happy to join Rushall Olympic. After five games back in England, to go back up two levels is a step forward for me and I’m hungry to show what I am capable of.”

A familiar face in South Yorkshire, Lalkovic first moved to the county for a loan spell at Doncaster while cutting his teeth at Chelsea.

The move was his first away from Stamford Bridge and he made six appearances for Rovers, registering one assist.

He returned to South Yorkshire in 2015, joining Barnsley after being released by Chelsea and spending time in the Czech Republic.

The former Slovakia youth international made 17 appearances for the Reds, registering two assists before departing for Walsall. Stints with Ross County and Portsmouth followed his spell with the Saddlers, but Lalkovic eventually returned to the Czech Republic in 2018.

He briefly returned to England with Boston United, but left the country again for a stint in Greece with Makedonikos.

In the summer of 2024, he spent time with the PFA’s squad of free agents. Stalybridge brought him back into English football this season but he has now made a two-division jump by joining Rushall.

He said: “After speaking to the manager and chairman, being here is going to help me do that and I can’t wait to get started.  I think I’ll bring calmness on the ball, experience, hard-work and hopefully goals and assists as well.

“I spoke to Sam [Mantom] during the summer and we talked about coming here, but at the time the circumstances were not right. 

“We kept in touch, though, and when the opportunity came back up to come here, it was an easy decision for me to make. I’ve enjoyed training with the lads and now I’m ready to help the team move up the table.”