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Loach to Sign on Thursday Wednesday, 18th Jul 2012 21:08
TWTD understands that Scott Loach will sign for the Blues tomorrow. The 24-year-old Watford keeper has been at Portman Road this evening to undergo a medical and will complete a £150,000 switch from the Hornets on Thursday.
A deal is all but agreed and the former England U21 international appears certain to become Town's new number one, despite reported interest from Blackburn.
Loach is unlikely to join up with the Blues squad in Holland for tomorrow’s match against Den Bosch but will be a Town player well in time for their UK-based friendlies.
The Nottingham-born keeper, who we reported was the subject of a Town enquiry in late June, was previously with the Blues’ academy between 1997 and 2000 before his family relocated back to his home town. Town's other senior keeper Arran Lee-Barrett would also have been at the academy at the same time.
The 6ft 4in tall keeper established himself as Watford’s number one during 2008/09 but after a drop in form fell out of favour at Vicarage Road last season with Manchester United’s Tomasz Kuszczak — Town’s number one keeper target until he joined Brighton - coming in on loan.
In addition to his spells as a youngster with the Blues — where he will have worked with current keeper-coach Malcolm Webster and returning academy director Bryan Klug - and Nottingham Forest, Loach was also with Southwell United and Lincoln City's youth set-ups, spending time on loan with the likes of Bourne Town, Radcliffe Olympic, Boston Town, Spalding United, Stamford, Lincoln United, Gedling Miners Welfare and Grantham Town while with the Imps, who will receive 15% of the fee the Blues are paying the Hornets.
In April 2006, Loach moved on to Watford, Lincoln receiving £50,000 in compensation. Prior to breaking into the first team at Vicarage Road he went on further loan spells at Stafford Rangers, Morecambe and Bradford City.
Loach can be seen in action for Town’s academy in this short film.
Photo: Action Images
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Well guys and girls we've been saying for ages we want young hungry players who will be proud to wear the shirt- nobody will be more proud than this lad!
For those that take interest in what Watford fans are saying....here's one posted half an hour ago... " I was behind the Watford goal at the last home game against Middlesborough when Loach made three outstanding saves which kept us in that game. One of these was magnificent and I would judge it as good a save as I have seen for a very long time. We went on to win that game and Scott's contribution made me feel that he would be far better away from Watford where, without the bile of so-called fans whose hostility to him meant he could never recover his confidence, he could yet go on to become the great keeper that so many knowledgeable people believed he could be. Ipswich could just that kind of place and I wish him well; we may yet come to regret the way we abused this young man.”....Let's hope this Watford fan is right and Town fans get behind him rather than slag him off unfairly at the first opportunity!
Great post Langdon_Blue - thanks for the copy of the insightful post from the Watford fan!
I love the fact we have a "home grown player" putting on the Town shirt on! That alone will mean he'll give us an extra 10% and if the Fans get behind him and he becomes a favourite that will mean another 10% I'm sure!!!!
@Langdon Blue. lol, i've been looking for a post like that to shut up the negative posters about Scott, nice one. A snip for a young lad who needs to find his confidence, was great, and will be great, welcome onboard Scott.