YORK City attacker Dan Nti has been hailed as a “lovely lad” and a “great servant” to Worcester City.

The 23-year-old left City in the summer and could come face-to-face with his former team-mates for the first time in Saturday’s FA Trophy first-round showdown at Bootham Crescent (3pm).

Nti penned a two-year deal with the Minstermen after City agreed to let him go for £4,000 with a 15 per cent sell-on clause.

The move ended his three-year stay at the Blues and Whites where he made 130 starts, scoring 44 goals and achieving 26 assists.

City boss Carl Heeley said: “Dan was a great servant to the club and is a lovely lad who wanted to move on and give it a shot at a higher level. It will be nice to see him again.”

Nti, who has netted just once for York so far, began his senior career with Loughborough University and bagged 49 goals in his second season with the club.

He netted 16 times in his first campaign with City and 15 in his second, including a strike against League One outfit Scunthorpe United in the FA Cup second round.

Nti once again hit double figures last season and was named in the National League North team of the year following his consistent performances on the right wing.

City will need to be alert should he feature for York but Heeley is confident his side have come “a long way” since their wretched start to the campaign.

Heeley thought City should have picked up at least a point from last Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat to promotion-chasing AFC Fylde in National League North.

“We were solid all over the pitch,” reflected Heeley.

“They didn’t cause us too many problems and we probably had the lion’s share of possession and probably had the best chances, so we have come a long way.

“Anybody who watches us regularly will see we have come on in leaps and bounds.

“We are not the same side we were in the first month of the season.

“We know we have got some ability and there are probably little things we could still improve on but we will continue to try to do that with this group.”