Manchester City goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu has joined Portsmouth on a season-long loan.
The 19-year-old spent last season on loan at Rochdale, keeping five clean sheets in 32 appearances, but was unable to help the club survive relegation to League Two.
City signed the highly-rated shot-stopper from Shamrock Rovers in February 2019 after he kept four clean sheets in his first six senior appearances for the Irish side and he has since gone on to earn four caps for the Republic of Ireland.
Bazunu will be hoping to compete at the opposite end of League One this season as he joins promotion-chasing Pompey, who agonisingly missed out on a play-off spot last season.
"I can’t wait to get started and now I’m looking forward to meeting the rest of the lads," Bazunu said.
“The manager said all the right things when he spoke to me about how we’re going to play and how he’s going to go about things.
“I’m really excited to get everything completed and I’ve been looking forward to this for a few weeks now.
“I’m trying to be a modern type of goalkeeper who’s good with his feet and can be like an extra man when we’re in possession, although the main job is still keeping the ball out of the net.
“Rochdale was probably the best loan I could have gone on for my first one. It was a brilliant experience and I got a lot of game time.
“There were plenty of crosses and shots for me to deal with, so I really enjoyed the responsibility and thought I improved a lot.”
Portsmouth manager Danny Cowley added: "We’re delighted to sign Gavin, who we believe is one of the best young goalkeepers in Europe.
“His presence comes from his speed around the box, how well he covers his area and the fact he’s incredibly brave.
“He has outstanding distribution and will have benefited tremendously from his loan spell with Rochdale.
“Last season he was probably the busiest keeper in League One – he made the most saves in the division.
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“We had to work really hard to make this deal happen as there was also interest from the Championship.
“But we presented to the Manchester City goalkeeping coach and are delighted to make the move possible because he fits our game idea and the way we want the team to play.
“We’ve now got two fantastic young players fighting for the number one spot and I think they can help each other progress. It’s the type of competition that we’re striving for in all areas of the pitch.”
