BREAKING: Cobblers snap up Manchester United defender Regan Poole in loan deal

The Cobblers have further strengthened their squad with the loan signing of highly-rated Manchester United teenager Regan Poole.
Regan Poole has signed for the Cobblers on a season-long loan deal (Picture: Pete Norton)Regan Poole has signed for the Cobblers on a season-long loan deal (Picture: Pete Norton)
Regan Poole has signed for the Cobblers on a season-long loan deal (Picture: Pete Norton)

The 19-year-old central defender has signed on for the season at Sixfields, and will join the squad for their pre-season training camp in Spain next week.

Poole was given his League debut as a 16-year-old in August, 2014, by Cobblers boss Justin Edinburgh when he was in charge at Newport County, and he has now been reunited with his former manager.

Poole made just 17 first team appearances at Rodney Parade before he was sold to the Red Devils for a deal reported to be worth up to £400,000 in September, 2015.

He has now been at Old Trafford for two years, making one late substitute appearance for the first team in Louis van Gaal’s outfit’s 5-1 Europa League win over Midtjylland in February, 2016.

Aside from that, Poole has been a part of United’s Under-23 squad, where has played as a holding midfielder as well as defender.

Born in Cardiff, Poole has played for Wales U17s, U19s and U20s, and he was part of Wales’ U20s squad that competed in the Toulon Tournament in the summer, under the stewardship of former Cobblers boss Rob Page.

Poole again played as a holding midfielder in France, and started all three of Wales’ group games against Ivory Coast, France and Bahrain, and although they drew two and one won of their matches, they failed to make the knockout stages.

The central defender has also played three times for Wales U21s.

Poole becomes the third central defender on the Cobblers’ books, alongside Leon Barnett and Ashton Taylor, who signed a three-year deal earlier this week.

He is Edinburgh’s ninth signing of the summer, and the first to join the club on loan, and it is unclear whether or not he will feature in Saturday’s opening pre-season friendly against Sileby Rangers at Fernie Fields (ko 3pm).