In ahead of the start of the 2020-1 League Two campaign came young goalkeeper Jamie Cumming; signing on loan from Chelsea. The deal that brought the England U19 stopper to the Lamex would see him on the books with us for the entire year. And there was good reason for fans to be excited about his signing; not least as the news landed on the same day as former number one Paul Farman revealed he was off to Carlisle United.

By the time Cumming came to us, he’d already established himself as number one in the Blues’ development squad. He’d also started training with the Premier League club’s first team; building up his experience among some formidable talent. Boro’ would give him an opportunity to take that one stage further too; the goalkeeping spot left open after Farms’ departure and Cumming’s to grab with both hands if he wanted to.

Jamie Cumming: Before Boro’

The lad had been with Chelsea since the age of eight, working his way up through youth squads at the Bridge. He made his U18 debut during the 2015-6 season, before going on to become a regular for that side the following campaign. To cap it off, he was part of that season’s FA Youth Cup-winning side; playing in the final as Chelsea crushed Manchester City 6-2 on aggregate.

Of course, we say he capped it then. But the 2017-8 campaign saw Cumming form part of the Blues’ quadruple-winning youth side. He also featured for the U19s as they made it to the UEFA Youth League final; his penalty shoot-out performance against Porto playing an important part of that. With the stopper very much moving his career in the right direction, it’s no surprise that Frank Lampard drafted him into first team activities in 2019-20.