AMERICAN-born ‘Niko’ Hamaleinen was a regular for the Under-21s during the 2015/16 season making 12 appearances.

The Finnish youth international also had a spell on loan at Dagenham & Redbridge in September 2015 during a one-month loan deal.

In 2016/17, he continued his development and was occasionally part of the first team set-up, making his debut against Sunderland in the League Cup and coming on against Fulham in the 2-1 victory at Craven Cottage.

But the form of consistency of Jake Bidwell last term meant the understudy was restricted to just youth football throughout 2017/18, and will be hoping for more of a breakthrough this term.