OWEN Goodman arrives at Colchester United with a ‘really good pedigree’ after joining from Premier League side Crystal Palace.

That's the view of U's boss Ben Garner, after the 19-year-old goalkeeper joined the U’s on a season-long loan.

Goodman, who watched his new side's two friendly matches at Ebbsfleet United on Saturday, is yet to make his professional debut for Palace but has been on the bench for several of their Premier League matches.

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Colchester boss Garner says the young shot-stopper is a player they watched numerous times, before bringing him to the JobServe Community Stadium.

 

Garner said: “We’re really pleased to get Owen in.

“We wanted to bring another goalkeeper in.

“He’s got really good pedigree and everyone at Crystal Palace speaks really highly of him.

"He was a key target for us.

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“We saw him live several times, last season between me and the recruitment staff and Dmitri Halajko) as well.

“We’d seen him and we knew what we were getting.

“I really like his character and he’s a really talented goalkeeper.

“We’ll get him involved on Tuesday (at Stevenage) and hopefully he can have a really good season for us.”

 

Garner wants his Colchester side to produce attacking, progressive football this season – and Goodman’s playing style suits that ethos.

The U’s boss says the 6’4’ England under-20 goalkeeper, who was born in Essex, is the kind of player he wants, both on and off the field.

“Owen fits in with our style of play here,” said Garner.

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“That’s the key in all the positions, from goalkeeper all the way through.

“We’ve got profiles on what we’re looking for and just as important is the background checks and the character of these people.

“We want to make sure that we’re bringing the right people into the dressing room.

“It’s a good dressing room in that respect and we want to make sure that we’re not taking away from that; if anything, we want to enhance that further.”