It’s been widely predicted for a couple of days now, but Carlisle United have announced that the Eagle has landed!
Crystal Palace forward John-Kymani Gordon has linked-up with United on a half-season loan deal which keeps him at Brunton Park until the end of the current campaign.
Gordon, 20 next month, has been with Palace for over a decade, and spent the 2020/21 season mainly with the Under-23s side, scoring twice in 11 appearances as they secured promotion from the Premier League 2 Division 2.
He signed his first professional contract in July 2020, and was further rewarded when he began training with the first-team, and made his first senior squad appearance on the bench against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
As well as contributing to Shaun Derry’s Development side, he continued to provide an option for Paddy McCarthy’s Under-18s, scoring a neatly-taken goal on the final day of the 2020/21 season as they took the title race right down to the wire.
In 2021/22, he registered three goals in 23 appearances as Paddy McCarthy’s side finished fifth in the Premier League 2 Division 1.
Gordon found the net 11 times in eight games in all competitions at the start of the 2022/23 campaign, including two hat-tricks.
His form saw him win September’s Premier League 2 Player of the Month award, and he also managed to earn a spot on the first-team bench five times.
Manager Paul Simpson said: “I think this is a really exciting signing for us.
“He’s a really talented and exciting player and if we can get him to develop and get used to first team football I think our supporters will really enjoy watching him.
“He’s slightly different to what we’ve got, he brings individuality in his style and an ability to go past players.
“He can score goals and, like I say, he’s really good to watch.
“We’ve been watching him for a good while now, we’ve all been out to see him live, and we’ve watched clips of him.
“I went and met him earlier on in the week down in London just to put my point across to him about what I want to see from him, and I know he’s delighted to be up here.
“He’s possibly found it a shock as to just how far north we are but he’ll settle and I’m looking forward to seeing him play.”
He will wear squad number 36 for Carlisle who have pulled off a coup as the player was being linked with loan moves to clubs higher up the football ladder.
