McCartan joins Lincoln on loan
Former Burnley striker Shay McCartan has today joined Lincoln City from Bradford City on a season long loan.
McCartan, now 24, first joined Burnley in 2010 on a two year scholarship and was a member of the team that reached the semi-final of the FA Youth Cup in 2012. By the end of that season he’d made his first team debut as a late substitute in a 2-1 win at Doncaster.
He signed for a further year and at the end of the 2012/13 season was rewarded with a new deal only for it to be withdrawn by the academy management. His search for a new club was short and he signed for Accrington where he played for four years.
For some time he was in and out of the side but he really established himself in the team as a goalscorer in the second half of the 2016/17 season and his form led to him getting a move to Bradford City last summer. It wasn’t the perfect first season for him or the club with two changes of manager although he did go on to win his first full cap for Northern Ireland.
With Michael Collins yet another new manager in charge at Bradford City, Shay has taken the opportunity to move to Sincil Bank for the 2018/19 season.
Collins said: “I spoke with Shay and explained how we couldn’t guarantee him regular football. I believe there is a quality player in Shay and our thinking is around the fact the door isn’t closed for him. He is still a Bradford City player and we want him to get out there and play some football. Shay needs to get back to enjoying his football and we will assess the situation from there.
“His attitude is first class and Lincoln have got a good player in Shay. This has been very amicable. He understands the reasoning behind it and remained very professional right up to being allowed out on loan.”
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