Forest Green have swooped for former Leeds United defender Olly Casey, on loan from Championship side Blackpool until the end of the season.
The 21-year-old centre-back came through the academy at Leeds United before heading to Bloomfield Road in search for first-team football.
Casey originally joined Leeds’ Academy at Under-11 level, before working his way through the age groups at Thorp Arch.
He went on to have great success, helping the Academy win the Under-18s Professional Development League North, Under-23s Professional Development League and last season the Premier League 2 Division 2 title.
The defender’s performances saw Marcelo Bielsa hand him a senior debut in December 2019, helping Leeds defeat Huddersfield Town 2-0 at the John Smith’s Stadium, in the season where the Whites would go on to win promotion to the Premier League. He played alongside former Forest Green midfielder Jordan Stevens and defender Liam Kitching at Elland Road.
Last season, Casey featured on six occasions for the Seasiders in the second-tier.
Casey told the FGR website: “I am really happy to be here. It’s been in the pipeline for a while now so it feels great to get it over the line. The experience I’ve already had in the Championship will hopefully put me in good stead for the upcoming season.”
Head Coach Ian Burchnall added: “We’re really happy to have Olly with us. He’s hungry for an opportunity to play first-team football and has good experience playing in Championship matches last season, so he’ll be a great addition to the group.”
