FC UNITED have officially submitted plans for a new 5,000 capacity stadium.

Having spent the past six years playing at Bury FC’s Gigg Lane, a bid has been put forward which would see a £3.5 million stadium built on the Ronald Johnson playing fields in Moston.

This is not the first time that the club have attempted to break away – but Manchester City Council pulled funding on a proposed move to Newton Heath in March last year.

If successful, the proposal could have a knock-on effect for Bury who stand to lose the income for the Rebels’ home games, which is believed to be around £7,000 a match.

Back on the field, the team kicked off their pre-season campaign on Saturday with a comfortable 4-1 victory over Airbus UK Broughton FC where a number of new faces were on show, with debutant Scott Metcalfe getting his name on the scoresheet.

Metcalfe is one of a number of signings who have joined the Evo-Stik Premier League outfit in the close season, with Adam Jones, Adam Edwards, Daniel Grimshaw, Chris Horne and Paul Armstrong all making the move to Gigg Lane.

The most established signing of the summer is Stalybridge Celtic’s Michael Carr.

The 27-year-old midfielder brings a wealth of experience to the side, including seven caps and one goal for the England C team.

Next up for Karl Marginson’s men is a trip to the Deva Stadium to take on Chester FC in the Supporters Direct Cup on Saturday before travelling to Winsford United on Tuesday evening.