Altrincham have made an exciting breakthrough in their quest for new recruits after completing a loan deal for flying Burnley winger Josh Ginnelly.
The 18-year-old right-sided midfielder is joining the Robins on an initial one-month agreement and arrives with impressive credentials after catching the eye at Shrewsbury and joining Burnley for an undisclosed six-figure fee last August.
It is a timely development for manager Lee Sinnott, with the need for reinforcements becoming all the more acute after Shaun Densmore was booked in for an operation on his knee and forced to accept his season is over.
Though naturally disappointed at having to delay his comeback plans, the Alty skipper was at least consoled by an assurance from his specialist that surgery would resolve the problem and enable him to return fully fit at the start of next season.
While Densmore will play no further part in the current campaign, there are high hopes that free-scoring winger Ginnelly will make a positive impact on Alty’s fortunes after having his temporary transfer rubber-stamped on Friday.
He’s in contention for an immediate debut against Gateshead at The J Davidson Stadium tomorrow.
Nuneaton-born, the 5ft 8in wide man spent seven years at Aston Villa’s Academy before moving to Shrewsbury and earning himself rapid promotion to the senior squad with some scintillating performances for the youth and reserve teams.
Sky Sports’ online scout feature monitored him during the 2014-15 season, in which he scored a remarkable 24 goals from the right flank for the youth and reserve sides, and gave him rave reviews, describing him as “an exceptional talent… very much one to watch and someone who already has Premier League and Championship clubs tracking him”.
Rating various aspects of his game, they awarded him nine out of 10 for pace and estimated his potential transfer market value at £6million.
Many of his goals that season were from set-pieces, and one is currently being shown on YouTube, a stunning 20-yard effort that curled over the wall and into the top corner in a Development League game against Wrexham.
Shrewsbury manager Micky Mellon did his utmost to upgrade the youngster to a professional contract but eventually lost out to Burnley, who paid a six-figure sum for his services and put him on a three-year deal.
Mellon said: “I hope he goes on to become a huge success there and shows everyone the potential he has. He is a lad of great promise, with fantastic potential, and there’s no doubt in my mind he can go right to the very top.”
Densmore, meanwhile, was able to cast a positive light on his latest setback, after being booked in for surgery on January 28.
“It’s a blow, but I was half-expecting it after the medial ligament injury failed to clear up as we hoped,” he said. “The surgeon said three to four months, so we are looking at pre-season and making sure I have a really good summer to ensure I’m back in peak condition for the start of the next campaign.”
