Darrell Clarke has moved to bolster his goalkeeper options by securing the loan signing of young QPR goalkeeper Joe Lumley. Lumley, 21, will arrive on loan until the end of the season to provide competition and cover for current first-choice stopper Will Puddy. But who is the little-known goalkeeper and why have Bristol Rovers signed him? Where and when was Joe Lumley born? Lumley was born in Harlow on February 17, 1995. He is 21-years-old. Where did Joe Lumley start his career? Lumley was picked up by Tottenham Hotspur and came through the youth ranks but was released as a 16-year-old. He was offered a professional deal at QPR soon after in the summer of 2010. How has he got on at Loftus Road? He is currently behind Alex Smithies and Matt Ingram in the pecking order but is valued highly by goalkeeper coach Gavin Ward and recently signed a new deal that will see him stay at QPR until 2019. Has he got any experience? A little, but not a lot is the answer to that question. Lumley made his first-team debut in a 1-0 defeat in an FA Cup tie against Nottingham Forest in an emergency last January. He followed that up by playing in a 1-1 draw against Blackburn Rovers in the Championship three days later. Has he been out on loan before? Lumley played five games on loan at Accrington Stanley in 2014. He conceded 15 goals in seven games as Accrington struggled near the foot of League Two. He also had loan spells at Stevenage and Morecambe, but did not make an appearance for either. Why has Darrell Clarke signed him? Clarke was hoping to add an experienced stopper to his ranks and made inquiries to Championship clubs last week for players that would have fitted the bill for the next 18 months. He was unsuccessful in getting those deals over the line, but is likely to return to those targets, who will be out of contract in the summer, if the clubs in question can't be persuaded to part with them before the end of January. If Clarke intends to use Lumley as his first-choice it is somewhat of a gamble after similar moves for Lee Nicholls and Kelle Roos proved to be unsuccessful in a long-running bid to find a long-term solution to replace Steve Mildenhall between the posts.
