Ex-Norwich City player joins EFL club – Portsmouth, Rotherham United and Reading FC were linked | OneFootball

Cheltenham Town have signed former Norwich City defender Jonathan Tomkinson after Portsmouth, Reading and Rotherham United were linked.

We may well be between transfer windows, but that hasn’t stopped League Two outfit Cheltenham Town from adding to their squad with the signing of former Norwich City defender Jonathan Tomkinson.

Cheltenham were relegated from League One in the 2023/24 season and then endured an underwhelming bottom-half finish last term, which has bled into this campaign.

The Robins are scrapping away near the relegation zone in League Two after a slow start to the campaign, but things could may be about to start turning around for them.

That is because three massive points came last weekend as they defeated Fleetwood Town by two goals to nil at Whaddon Road, courtesy of goals from Isaac Hutchinson and Josh Martin.

It was Steve Cotterill’s first game back in charge of the club where he rose to prominence as a manager after beginning his professional playing career with his hometown club, having now replaced Michael Flynn.

As well as that, Cheltenham have undergone major changes off the pitch in the last few weeks, with former Burnley chairman Mike Garlick finally taking over the club.

To go with those changes, Cheltenham have now completed the seemingly impressive coup of Jonathan Tomkinson, who has been out of contract since the summer.

Cheltenham have confirmed the signing of centre-back Jonathan Tomkinson on a free transfer.

The 23-year-old Texas-born defender has signed a contract until the end of the 2025/26 season.

It had previously been reported that Tomkinson had been the subject of interest from Championship outfit Portsmouth as well as League One sides Reading, Rotherham United and Stockport County.

Tomkinson came through the academy at MLS side FC Dallas before joining Norwich City in 2019.

He turned professional with the Canaries in 2022 and made three first-team appearances for the club across three seasons, with the majority of his football as a Norwich player being played in the Canaries' academy.

During those three seasons, he spent time out on loan at Stevenage, Bradford City and Ross County respectively, where he played 13 times in the Scottish Premiership last season.

The former United States youth international is deemed as a coup for Cheltenham, as they seek to push themselves away from trouble in the fourth tier.

Steve Cotterill will hope Jonathan Tomkinson kicks Cheltenham on

Back at Cheltenham, former Bristol City boss Steve Cotterill is tasked with turning around a sinking ship.

But an off-field overhaul combined with his coaching and managerial ability has brought renewed hope to the Gloucestershire spa town.

In the summer, their business was frustrating and reasonably quiet, but they did make some impressive additions towards the end of the window, including the aforementioned Hutchinson on loan from Bristol Rovers.

Increased quality all over the park was required for Town, and Tomkinson should bring a higher level of quality and pedigree to the squad as they seek to stave off an unwanted and unplanned return to non-league football.

Tomkinson could make his debut as soon as this weekend as Cheltenham travel to Kent to face a strong Gillingham side, who under the management of Gareth Ainsworth and going well in the table through the first quarter of the season.

Tomkinson is fighting to get into a back-four system deployed by Cotterill last week, with another late summer signing Sam Sherring currently partnering former Bristol Rovers defender James Wilson at the back.

Still only 23, the American is still very much in the infancy of his senior career, and given his international and previous domestic pedigree having developed through a club like Norwich, he could well evolve into a real standout player at League Two level.