Hatters sign Royals keeper on loan
After Christian Walton was recalled by parent club Brighton & Hove Albion earlier today, the Hatters have signed young goalkeeper Stuart Moore on loan from Sky Bet Championship side Reading.
The 22-year-old academy graduate came through the ranks at the Madejski Stadium and made his EFL debut while on loan at League One Peterborough last February.
Manager Nathan Jones said: “Since I’ve come to the club we’ve had a process in place where we’ve identified some of the best young goalkeepers in the country, and we’ve had two of them already in Christian and Jonathan Mitchell.
“Stuart was the next one on our list so we are delighted that Reading have agreed to loan him to us.”
Moore has also gained experience during loan spells in Non-League with Gloucester City, Bath City and Basingstoke Town, where he spent the whole of the 2014-15 season, helping the Hampshire side reach the Conference South play-offs and winning their player of the year award.
After his return to the Madejski, he featured in a Royals first team squad for the first time as an unused substitute in the Capital One Cup win over Portsmouth in August 2015, and then acted as understudy to number one Ali Al Habsi against Everton in the same competition and in home league games against Charlton and Middlesbrough last season.
He made four League One appearances in total during his loan at Peterborough in the second half of last term, and since Jaap Stam took over at Reading in the summer, he has been a regular in the 18-man matchday squad on 14 occasions.
Moore has also featured in the Checkatrade Trophy this season, playing for the Royals’ Under-23s in both their games against the Town’s quarter-final opponents Yeovil.
Welcome to Kenilworth Road, Stuart!