Leyton Orient director of football Martin Ling has confirmed that midfielder Ebou Adams will not return to the club permanently this summer.

Adams has been in talks with Orient for some time, however, a permanent deal could not be agreed for the midfielder, who was released by Championship side Norwich City earlier this month.

The Guardian Series was also told earlier this afternoon that Adams would not return to the club, however, it remains unclear where the young midfielder’s long-term future lies with both Football League and National League clubs interested in his services.

Adams initially moved to Brisbane Road on loan from Norwich in January and impressed during his time with the club, with his all action performances in midfield endearing him to O’s fans.

He made 20 appearances for the club in all competitions during the second half of the season, scoring once against Gateshead in the FA Trophy, with that strike being named as the club’s Goal-of-the-Season.

The 22-year-old’s impressive form saw him rewarded with a call up to the Gambia squad in March for their friendly against Algeria, but the midfielder showed his commitment to Orient by being given permission to miss the game so he could feature in the O’s 3-0 win over Woking.

The news of Adams’ departure will be a blow to head coach Justin Edinburgh, who spoke on numerous occasions of his desire to keep the midfielder at the club, and Ling admitted his disappointment in an interview with Leyton Orient’s website.

He said: “It’s disappointment. We tried everything in our power to keep him here and the good thing about the message back from Ebou is that it’s nothing to do with finances. He wouldn’t tell us which club he is going to. I would make a pretty good guess and say it will be a league club and it’s one of the things we have to face sometimes as we are in the National League.

“Finances weren’t the issue though and it was about the level of football that Ebou’s going to go to. It was a good conversation, but a sad conversation from our point of view because I think he did really well for the football club.”