Before you can say Jack Robinson, Carlisle United have their first recruit of the January transfer window!
United have agreed a deal with Middlesbrough to take the 21-year-old defender for the rest of the League Two season.
Robinson has been in the Championship outfit’s academy system since the age of 13 and played twice for the Under-21 side in the Checkatrade Trophy in October and November 2019.
He signed his first professional contract with the club in the summer of 2020 and has been a regular at the heart of the defence in the under-23 team.
He was named among the substitutes for the first team at Rotherham in April 2021 and made his senior debut as a late substitute against Wycombe Wanderers on 8 May 2021.
After extending his professional contract that summer, he made his first start for the senior side against Blackpool in the Carabao Cup in August 2021.
He joined National League outfit Yeovil Town on a season-long loan for the 2021/22 season and made a total of 18 appearances for the Glovers.
Manager Paul Simpson said: “I’m delighted that we’ve got Jack over the line. He’s a player we’ve been looking at over the last month or two because we wanted to get cover in on that left side.
“He can cover for us at wing back and centre back on that side of the pitch and that’s good for us.
“It’s his second loan, with him being out at Yeovil, and he has a very good pedigree about him.
“He was actually a player I was looking at for the under-19 age group when I was with the FA, so I know all about him. I’m looking forward to getting started with him.
“I do like left-footed players because they bring that natural balance. We are a little bit short there, and certainly defensively with Duncan Idehen having gone back.
“The challenge for Jack now is to show that he deserves to get in ahead of two players who have done really well for us in Jack Armer and Jon Mellish. Hopefully he’ll be able to push them.
“Being with Yeovil and his involvement with the first team at Boro means he comes with some experience, and it’s always a gamble when you’re taking players on a first loan.
“It’s still a gamble now that it’s his second, but that’s the same with every signing you make. But I like the way Middlesbrough bring players through, they’ve always got something about them.
“I’m hoping it goes really well because it’s a loan with a view to permanent deal if everything is right. He’s hungry, he’s determined to do well and, as I say, I’m looking forward to working with him.”
