Former England international Eni Aluko turned out for Sunday league side Pevensey and Westham FC on Saturday after the Sussex outfit signed the forward for £5 on eBay.

Pevensey and Westham entered an eBay raffle to support the charity Football Beyond Borders, with the chance to sign Aluko one of the top prizes.

The former Chelsea star was introduced in the first half at Langney Sports Club in Eastbourne during Pevensey and Westham’s friendly fixture against fellow local grassroots side Ringmer AFC.

Aluko – who has played at three World Cups, three European Championships, an Olympic games and is one of the WSL’s all time top goal scorers – also had Storm Eunice to contend with to give the occasion that extra Sunday league spice.

„It took me back to my childhood really,“ Aluko said of the experience.

„This is where it all started – playing in difficult conditions, having that real grit, enjoying your football. I was saying to some of the women sometimes when you get into the pro game it all gets quite serious and quite heavy and you start overthinking it, and often you want to go back to how you played as a kid and just enjoying it, so that’s how it felt today.“

Steve Hadfield, head coach for Pevensey And Westham FC added: „When I found out we’d won I had about 35 WhatsApp messages and it all went loopy. It’s just been a really big buzz for the club, and having Eni has given us so much momentum to carry on playing grassroots football.“

Brazil icon Roberto Carlos is set to play for Shropshire Sunday League team Bull in the Barne as part of the same Dream Transfer charity initiative later in 2022 to support Football Beyond Borders.

Football Beyond Borders aims to use football as a tool to tackle the root causes of low educational attainment, poor school attendance and challenging behaviour across Essex, London and Greater Manchester.