MATT Ford brought forward Frederik Jakobsen’s arrival at Pirates and said the talented youngster would “do his utmost” in the skull and crossbones.

While reluctant to release “absolute gentleman” Mateusz Szczepaniak, boss Ford made the move in a bid to give Poole greater firepower at reserve.

Szczepaniak has struggled to live up to his winter billing as a trump card and Jakobsen has been closely monitored by Ford for some years.

The 20-year-old joins on an assessed 4.00 average and will become a Poole asset when he has completed eight SGB Premiership meetings.

Jakobsen, who had also received approaches from Belle Vue and Somerset, attended press and practice in March and rode in the Blue Riband meeting at Wimborne Road two seasons ago.

Discussing the new recruit, Ford told the Daily Echo: “Frederik is ready to go. He was nailed on for 2019 and contacted me three weeks ago to say he felt he could come earlier, so it was an easy decision.

“Yes, he’s got to learn the tracks but he is the standout young Dane and that is also the opinion of Denmark’s team manager Hans Nielsen, who picked him to be the under-21 representative in the Speedway of Nations.

“I know Frederik will do his utmost to give us something extra in the reserve spots.

“Everyone who was there on press day was very intrigued as to who he was, because he was showing a good turn of speed.”

Ford admitted he had considered Kacper Gomolski and Oliver Berntzon as replacements for Szczepaniak, whose departure had been difficult for him to take on a personal level.

He said: “It was with an incredibly heavy heart that I let Mat stand down. He has lived with me and my wife since the start of the year and has been an absolute gentleman.

“Alongside Kacper Woryna, Mat was meant to be one of our trump cards and it hasn’t quite worked out for him.

“He has had some issues, not least with his machinery and has been having at torrid time at Rybnik as well.

“It’s never easy telling anyone you are taking them out of the team but when someone is as professional as Mat and doesn’t turn immediately to social media to criticise your decision, it makes it all the harder.

“There were one or two other routes we could have gone down in terms of replacing Mat.

“I gave serious consideration to Kacper Gomolski and Oliver Berntzon but both riders didn’t have the equipment to come and it would have been too expensive a move for the club to make in a year which has been testing at best.”

Meanwhile, Nico Covatti will guest for Pirates against Belle Vue on Wednesday as Nicolai Klindt has racing commitments in Denmark.