Dave Atkinson signs contract extension
Defender David Atkinson has today agreed a contract extension which keeps him at the club until the end of June 2017.
United initially signed the former-Boro defender on an emergency loan deal in March 2015 and his impressive performances earned him a summer contract offer which kept him at Brunton Park until the end of this month. He has made a total of 21 appearances for the Cumbrians so far.
Manager Keith Curle said: “David is a player who has earned his deal. He is a very positive minded individual who has worked extremely hard with us. We gave him the opportunity to progress his career here because he was unfortunate with a few injuries which hampered the last few months of his time over in the north east.
“We incentivised him to come across to us and earn the right to be offered a longer contract. I think he has more than done that. He has a very unassuming character and I would go as far as calling him the quiet man of the group.
“However, he does his job and he has a huge amount of determination. He has shown us that he can cope with this level of football and I know there’s more to come.”
Bishop Aukland-born Atkinson joined Middlesbrough as an eight year old and earned a place in Aitor Karanka's first team squad late in the 2013/14 season. The England youth international can play anywhere across the back four and also featured in midfield for the Boro Development Squad. He spent a month on loan at Hartlepool in September 2014.
