Former Leeds United prospect who had Huddersfield Town and Barnsley trials makes top flight move
Former Leeds United prospect Josh Rae has landed a move to Scottish Premiership outfit St Johnstone.
The 23-year-old featured between the sticks at youth level for Leeds, having joined the club from Scottish giants Celtic. He was a highly-rated prospect and hit the headlines as a 13-year-old when he played for Hamilton Academical’s under-20s, earning a move to Celtic Park.
However, he failed to make a senior breakthrough at Elland Road and had trials with Barnsley and Huddersfield Town in search of a chance in the English game. He eventually returned to Scotland and was most recently on the books of Airdrieonians.
St Johnstone have now given him an opportunity to step up to the top flight, handing Rae a two-year deal. After putting pen to paper, he said: “It’s been a dream to play in the Premiership and hopefully I can play as many games as possible. My main aim is to do well for this club and help us move forward. At every level, I’ve tried to do my best and work my way up. I now feel ready to take on this challenge.
“I feel I did well at Airdrieonians. We were playing out from the back constantly and we managed to get a promotion and then the cup last season. I like to dominate my box and help the defenders out as much as possible. I’ve worked a lot on playing out from the back and I feel I am continuing to get better with that.”
St Johnstone’s goalkeeping coach Craig Hinchliffe added: “Josh is someone I’ve known and admired for the past couple of years. He is coming to us after a good couple of seasons with Airdrieonians and was playing in a successful team. He was a big part of it.
“He has done well in all of the lower leagues and I feel the time is now right for him to step up. He is someone who can come in and really complement the goalkeeping group we’ve got.”