A trio of talented youngsters from Premier League giants Liverpool have joined Cheltenham Town on one month loan deals.
Kevin Stewart, Jack Dunn and Lloyd Jones will all go into Paul Buckle’s squad for the League Two trip to Oxford United on Saturday (3pm).
“Bringing in players of this calibre is a real coup for Cheltenham Town,” Buckle said.
“I have a good relationship with Liverpool’s academy director Alex Inglethorpe, having played with him at Exeter City and taken players off him on loan when he was working at Tottenham.
“I know how well he develops players and I spent three days up in Liverpool looking at their Under-21 squad recently.
“I asked about the availability of these three lads and it’s fantastic that they were all willing to come down. Liverpool and Alex have been great.”
Stewart is a 21-year-old defender or midfielder, who joined Liverpool’s Academy in July 2014 after leaving Tottenham Hotspur.
He has spent time on loan at Crewe Alexandra, making four appearances at the end of last season.
Liverpool-born Dunn, 20, is an attacking midfielder or forward, who has trained occasionally with the first team having impressed in the Under-21 side.
He was included in Brendan Rodgers' squad for a post-season friendly at Shamrock Rovers in May 2014, rising from the bench late on and scoring a fine goal.
Dunn has captained Liverpool’s Under-18s and represented England at a number of youth international levels.
Centre-half Jones, 19, stands 6ft 3in tall and joined the Reds from Plymouth Argyle before the 2011/12 campaign, during which he was a regular for the Under-16s.
The Welshman has won international caps for his country at youth level and was named on the substitutes' bench for the first time when Liverpool’s senior team travelled to face Fulham in the Premier League in May 2013.
Chairman Paul Baker said: “I know how hard the manager has worked to secure these signings and it’s a real coup for us to be establishing a relationship with a top club like Liverpool.
“Let’s hope these players can further develop their skills with us in the same way that the likes of Luke Garbutt and Karl Henry did, for the benefit of Cheltenham Town, Liverpool and of course the players themselves."
Buckle has this week secured homegrown attacking midfielder Harry Williams on a contract until the end of next season, along with Omari Sterling-James, Joe Hanks and Zack Kotwica, who have also signed until the summer of 2016.
Midfielder Kane Ferdinand has extended his loan spell from Peterborough United until the end of the current campaign.