FORMER Manchester United attacker Michael Twiss left Leigh RMI for Chester City - but manager Steve Waywell knew nothing of the move before being informed by The Journal.

The player made 30 appearances in the starting line up for the Railwaymen last season as both a striker and left-sided midfielder and looked set to stay with the club last week after telling Waywell that he wanted to negotiate a deal following the expiry of his contract last month.

However, Mark Wright managed to tempt the young striker to the Deva Stadium as one of six recruitments he had made in as many days, leaving the Leigh manager disappointed although not shocked.

"It was always on the cards that Twissy would not be with us next season," said a candid Waywell "but at the same time I was getting good signs from him last week when he said that he was interested in signing a new deal with us. He obviously wants to get back into the Football League and believes that playing for Chester will give him a better chance of doing that and of course I'm disappointed that he has gone."

Ironically, Twiss first appeared in the starting line-up at Hilton Park against Chester back in September and made quite an impact, scoring two quite spectacular goals in a 3-0 rout. His contribution in the 1-1 draw at the Deva in March, a solo run down the right hand side followed by thunderous drive, was equally impressive and led the Blues to sign him on a two-year deal.

Twiss was at the centre of much speculation towards the latter end of the season as Leigh's financial plight looked set to force him to look for a move. His 15 goals at a rate of one in two games were rumoured to have alerted Morecambe as well as Doncaster Rovers and Third Division side York City.

The move will force Waywell to move into the transfer market during the close season to fill the vacant striker's position, although both Dino Maamria and Tony Black are signed on for another season.