JEZ GEORGE THANKS BRAINTREE FOR NORRIS RETURN
Chief Executive Jez George has thanked Braintree Town for allowing Will Norris to complete an early return to the U's from his season-long loan with the National League side.
The Essex club have agreed to terminate the deal of the 22-year old goalkeeper, who enjoyed a sterling spell at the Amlin Stadium and marked his Cambridge return at Crawley Town on Saturday.
Thankful to Braintree for their co-operation, Jez George commented: "We are extremely grateful to Braintree, especially to Danny Cowley [Manager] and Lee Harding [Chairman].
"Their club has given Will a fantastic opportunity during the first half of this season, where he has gained a huge amount of experience at a very good level.
"The scenario in the summer was different and Will was not going to get any football here at Cambridge United. It was therefore in his best interest to get a season of football under his belt, which is why we actioned the loan deal with Braintree. However, we were only able to agree a season long loan without a recall.
"Once Shaun [Derry, Manager] had seen Will for sufficient time in training to make an assessment, he indicated that he wanted to get Will back to give him that opportunity to compete for the number one shirt, but we were totally in the hands of Braintree."
He continued: "We are particularly grateful that a club has put the individual development of a young player ahead of their short term interests and for that Braintree deserve a huge amount of credit.
"It is also a big feather in their cap that a young goalkeeper who has spent half a season with them, had rave reviews and kept so many clean sheets has come straight back into our team in League Two.
"Braintree are a fantastic football club who do incredibly well in the National League under Lee's astute stewardship. Danny is doing a great job there, having previously excelled at Concord Rangers, and we are very grateful to them both for their help and understanding."
"Most importantly, Will now has a fantastic opportunity to establish himself in our team. He's an outstanding young man, a goalkeeper of huge potential and we should also pay tribute to the work of Martin Davies in helping Will develop from the 17 year old we signed from Royston to such an accomplished young goalkeeper."