Ipswich Town signed a new goalkeeper on Friday, with free agent Joel Coleman joining on a short-term deal.
The reason for his arrival is injury, with third-choice stopper Nick Hayes suffering an ankle injury and possibly requiring surgery, while youngsters Lewis Ridd and Anthony Bort are also sidelined.
Aged 27 and with 107 professional appearances to his name, Coleman will offer support to senior stoppers Christian Walton and Vaclav Hladky and has already appeared on the bench, named as one of two goalkeeping substitutes at Bracknell on Monday night.
Given the No.13 shirt at Town, his deal runs until January and, while Ipswich will be hoping he isn’t needed in match action, will value the experience he can bring in a back-up role.
“Nick has an injury to his ankle that he picked up playing for the U21s,” Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna said, when asked about Coleman’s arrival.
“It’s very unfortunate for him, so he's seeing a specialist at the moment and deciding whether it needs surgical repair.
“So he's going to be out for a few months and obviously that leaves us a little bit lighter in the goalkeeping department and we have one or two injuries to our goalkeepers who would normally back up the first-team squad.
“Joel was available and someone that Rene (Gilmartin, goalkeeping coach) has come across before and has good recommendations for.
“He's joined us over the last few days and is going to be with us over the next few months at least.”
Free agent
Coleman has been out of work since leaving Rochdale in the summer, having made 21 appearances during his one season with the League Two club.
He arrived as a back-up to Jay Lynch and took the starting job after his team-mate suffered an injury in the warm-up, ahead of a game with Colchester in August.
Coleman kept the shirt through to November, lost it back to Lynch and then took it again throughout December and January. Lynch got in again, Coleman suffered an injury and his season, and ultimately his Rochdale career, was over.
He was released in the summer and, despite reported interest from Stockport and Hartlepool, he went unsigned before latching on with Ipswich.
A journey
Bolton-born Coleman’s senior career began more than seven years ago, when he stepped off the bench for boyhood club Oldham in a League One clash with MK Dons, having come through the club’s youth system.
From that point he quickly established himself as Oldham’s No.1 keeper, making 45 appearances in total and helping the Boundary Park side retain their place in the third tier.
His form was good enough to force a move to Huddersfield, then in the Championship, in 2016 but he never moved beyond a back-up role and made only 19 appearances for the Terriers.
His time there also included a loan spell with Shrewsbury in 2018/19 where, while making 20 appearances, he lost his place to Steve Arnold and returned to Huddersfield early.
His release from Huddersfield in 2020 saw him quickly join Fleetwood Town on a one-year deal, but he never started a league game for the club before his switch to Rochdale, suffering a nasty injury on his debut and never forcing his way back in following his recovery.
Big games
His four seasons with Huddersfield may only have yielded 19 appearances, but he managed to appear in some big games.
His debut was a Boxing Day victory over Nottingham Forest in 2016, before keeping a clean sheet against a Manchester City side including Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne as Huddersfield secured a 0-0 draw in a fifth-round FA Cup tie. The replay, sadly, ended in a 5-1 loss as Coleman was twice beaten by Aguero and also conceded to Leroy Sane, Kelechi Iheanacho and Pablo Zabaleta.
Then, in May of 2017, Coleman started a play-off semi-final first leg clash with Sheffield Wednesday following Danny Ward’s suspension. The Terriers drew the first game 0-0 and the second 1-1, with Ward back in goal for the shootout success which sent Huddersfield to Wembley.
Coleman watched on from the bench as his side won promotion against Reading, again on penalties, booking their spot in the Premier League.
He was restricted to cup football in the season prior to his loan to Shrewsbury but, following his early return from Shropshire, he made his top flight debut in an end-of-season game with Southampton which ended 1-1.
Following a good performance, he said: "It was a dream come true for me, I've trained all my life to become a professional keeper and to play in the top league is a dream come true - no-one can ever take that away from me.
"I loved every second of it, played with no pressure and I hope I've made a good impression for next season going forward and to try and stake my claim to be pushing for that No.1 spot."
Huddersfield were relegated that season but Coleman was unable to become first choice in the Championship, under Danny Cowley, before being released at the end of the 2019/20 campaign.
Friends reunited
Coleman joins an Ipswich Town dressing room including a handful of familiar faces.
The goalkeeper played two League One matches behind a defence which included George Edmundson, as the Town defender took his first steps in the world of senior football.
And Coleman’s one season as a Fleetwood Town player saw him share a dressing room with both Wes Burns and Janoi Donacien.
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