Stoke City sanction loan deal for England youth ace
Tommy Simkin has joined Forest Green Rovers on loan from Stoke City until the end of the season.
The 19-year-old England youth international had impressed on loan at Solihull Moors at the top of the National League in the first half of this campaign, but was summoned back to Stoke after Mark Travers was recalled by parent club Bournemouth and Frank Fielding suffered an injury in training. He made an emergency Championship debut in December against Sheffield Wednesday when Jack Bonham was ruled out with illness.
The arrival of Daniel Iversen on loan from Leicester, while Fielding has also returned to training, has meant Stoke could sanction this move to League Two for more game time and the next stage of his development. He is able to make the switch to a third club during one season because his time at Solihull was only a youth loan.
Stoke technical director Ricky Martin said: “This loan is an opportunity for Tommy to maintain his development and test himself in League Two following a successful period at Solihull Moors in the division below.
Tommy has benefitted from returning to our first team environment and has shown his capabilities both in training and when he was called upon to make his debut. We believe regular game time in the EFL is the next step and it is testament to the maturity and quality of his performances that we have received loan interest from several clubs.
“We wish Tommy well at Forest Green and look forward to seeing his continued progress.”
