'Real leader' Jake Griffin becomes 10th Chester signing after Stoke City switch
Republic of Ireland youth international has signed a two-year deal at the Deva
Chester have added highly-rated central defender Jake Griffin from EFL Championship side Stoke City to their ranks on a permanent basis.
Griffin, 20, has agreed a two-year deal at the Deva Community Stadium, arriving at the Blues on a free transfer having had a year remaining on his deal at the Potters, where he had signed fresh terms last summer.
The central defender is a player who has been tracked for some time by Chester boss Phil Parkinson and was one of the first approaches made earlier in the summer, with the deal agreed between the clubs some weeks ago.
Griffin had been with Stoke since the under-10s age group and had progressed to captain the U21 side at Premier League 2 level, where he was a regular. While he hadn’t been able to make a senior breakthrough at the bet365 Stadium he had been an unused substitute in Championship matchday squads multiple times, the most recent being at the end of January for a clash with Birmingham City.
Capped for the Republic of Ireland at youth level, Griffin has spent time on loan at both Brackley Town and FC Halifax Town in recent seasons, but his move to Chester will see him have the chance to nail down a starting berth week in, week out, with the defender another who fits Parkinson’s model of young, talented and ambitious players working within the club’s new training model of an additional contact day.
Said the Chester manager: “He’s a dominant centre back, a real leader type, aggressive in his defending, physically strong and someone who enjoys the responsibility of defending properly. But alongside that, he’s also comfortable in possession and can play, which is really important in how we want to build and control games.
“Jake was also Stoke City’s U21 captain, so we’re bringing in another centre back with excellent leadership qualities and the personality to organise, communicate and drive standards around him.
“Despite being young, he’s already had exposure to senior football with spells at Brackley and Halifax, which will have been massive for his development and understanding of the demands of men’s football and the level required here.
“He’s another player with the profile we want at the football club, hungry, ambitious, high ceiling and ready to compete.”
Griffin becomes the 10th signing of the summer for Chester, adding to the acquisitions of Luke Hewitson, Sam Reed, Jack Kenny, Jefferson Abreu, George Burroughs, Kofi Moore, Dominic McHale, Billy Waters and Jacob Hazel.
A central midfielder with considerable experience at National League North level and above is set to arrive next week having completed his medical with the club, while Parkinson is keeping an additional spot in the squad open heading into pre-season for any deals that may arise to be done, or any trialists who suitably impress the Blues boss.
Another central defender is a possibility, although the market will be assessed before any decisions are made, but the bulk of Chester’s business, all done on permanent deals, will be done by the time the players return for pre-season training next week.
Really pleased with the recruitment this summer. For whatever reason, the recruitment last summer simply didn't work.
It all seems to be coming together now and Parky isn’t wasting any time.
It will no doubt take time to gel with so many new players, but my only real concern is that our defence seems to be lacking some older heads and experience, which was an area we struggled in last season until we signed Davies.