Reports link City keeper to Albion
ONE of the stronger rumours doing the rounds is that 19-year-old Manchester City goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu might be on his way to Burton Albion on loan for the next stage of his career development.
Bazunu, born in Dublin of Nigerian descent, spent last season with Rochdale and impressed in two games against the Brewers, keeping a clean sheet when they won 1-0 at the Pirelli Stadium.
He was not at fault for either goal when Burton won 2-0 at Spotland later in the campaign.
He made 32 appearances for Dale during the season but was not first choice by the end of the campaign.
He did, however, make his World Cup debut for the Republic of Ireland, albeit in their embarrassing 1-0 home defeat to Luxembourg. He has two caps, as has Burton’s current Irish international keeper, Kieran O’hara.
Bazunu showed in the games against Burton that he is comfortable with the ball at his feet, one aspect of a goalkeeper’s play that manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink appreciates and you would not rule out a third keeper being brought in alongside O’hara and Ben Garratt, since Hasselbaink did that with Dillon Barnes, on loan from QPR, last season.
Meanwhile, another player who the Brewers were briefly rumoured to be interested in, former Bristol Rovers captain Luke Leahy, has settled his future by signing for Shrewsbury Town.
Leahy, a left-back, scored 10 goals for The Gas as they were relegated this season and turned down a new contract.