Cambridge United are pleased to confirm the arrival of Bristol City centre back Robbie Cundy on loan until the end of the 2020/21 season.
Cundy, 23, joins United to give Head Coach Mark Bonner further depth in his central defensive options alongside the U’s own Greg Taylor and Harry Darling.
The defender began his career within Aston Villa’s youth set-up before moving onto Oxford United as a youngster. He built up his senior experience through loan spells in the non-league with Daventry Town, Chesham United, Gloucester City, Oxford City and Southport, where he made a combined 69 appearances over two years.
Cundy left the Kassam Stadium in 2017 and joined Gloucester City permanently for a season, before switching to National League South rivals Bath City a year later, where his 43 appearances and six goals saw him pick up all of the Romans’ end of season individual accolades.
His impressive performances at Twerton Park led to the approach of his current parent club, the Robins, in the Championship. In 2018/19 after a brief spell in League Two with Exeter City, the 6 ft 2 inch centre back continued his development with Torquay United on loan, where he featured 25 times.
Now looking forward to a year at the Abbey, Cundy said: “It’s been a long while since I’ve been able to do anything football related, so I was really happy to get this deal over the line.
“The ambitions of the Club sounded really promising when I spoke to the Head Coach (Mark Bonner) earlier in the week, and I felt that was important. Having now also had the chance to see the training ground, the facilities themselves are good too, so I’m looking forward to getting started.
“First and foremost my role for the team is to defend, so I look to win my headers, make the tackles and be aggressive, but when the time is right I also enjoy the chance to play out from the back. The main thing for me coming to Cambridge United, is to get as many games as I can under my belt.
“It’s a motivation to come back to this League, and I want to build on what I did last season. I want to get back into training, get used to it all again, and kick on from there.”
Meanwhile, Head Coach Mark Bonner added: “We’ve known all along that centre back is an area of the team that we have needed to add competition ahead of the season, and we’re pleased to have waited for the right type to come forward with Robbie’s arrival.
“He has a real drive to establish himself at this level, as he looks for his first start in the Football League. I’ve had the chance to speak to a number of coaches that have worked with Robbie previously, and they have all spoken highly of his character. He has the attributes of a centre back that I feel are important for this level in that he’s aggressive, dominant in the air and capable of handling the ball. To have somebody with a good ability to make first contact when defending your 18 yard box is key in League Two.
“There is a healthy competition for places now, with Robbie fighting alongside Greg Taylor and Harry Darling for the two centre back positions this season. The challenge now is for him to take the opportunity, get super fit and compete to get in the team."
Cundy will wear the U’s number 16 shirt for the 2020/21 season.