Carlisle United are delighted to announce the arrival of Derby County forward Jack Stretton on a season-long loan deal.
Stretton, 21 next month, has progressed through the youth ranks with the Rams right through to the first-team.
The striker entered his first full season as a professional at the start of the 2020/21 campaign, following a strong start to the season with the U23s where he scored eight goals in eight games.
That caught the eye of then manager Wayne Rooney and he went on to make his league debut against Wycombe Wanderers, coming off the bench in a 1-1 draw in November 2020.
Stretton was loaned to National League side Stockport County between March and May 2021 and he made a positive impact, scoring three goals in five games for the Hatters as they challenged for promotion back to the EFL.
Stretton was recalled early due to a striker crisis at Pride Park but unfortunately suffered an injury, which ended his season early.
Highly-rated he grew in stature at his parent club when he scored 14 goals in all competitions for the U18 side in the 2018/19 campaign.
That was followed by 12 goals and three assists from 18 appearances, which elevated him to the U23 set-up for the first time.
His superb form in front of goal saw him called up to the Scotland U19 squad during the 2019/20 season.
Stretton scored his first professional goal for Derby during the 2021/22 campaign, in a 2-1 defeat against Peterborough United, and went on to make 16 appearances in total, which mainly came from the bench.
Manager Paul Simpson said: "He’s another who has real potential and Derby are looking for him to take that next step.
"He was on the bench for their first-team last week, for their opening game, but they’ve brought another forward in which has allowed this to happen.
"He’s really looking forward to the challenge of trying to work his way into our team, and both him and Jayden know they’re coming into a group that’s done really well over pre-season. Anybody coming into that is going to have to work hard to get into the team.
"His time at Stockport will stand him in good stead. hat was the opportunity to go and play men’s football on a regular basis.
"He did that, he scored goals, and this is the next step for him. It puts him in a different environment at a different football club and, being horrible about it, at a different level to what he’s used to.
"He’ll have to learn a different side to things because it’s not all as fantastic as it is at Derby County with their training ground and facilities.
"He seems a really good personality, a good character, and I’ve had some really good references about him. I’m looking forward to seeing how he works with us and to getting him out on the grass.
"Let’s see what he can do and if he can get into positions where he can finish off the chances we create."
Jack is available to sponsor, call 0330 094 5930 or email commercial@carlisleunited.co.uk for more details.
