The 19-year-old central defender joins the Minstermen after playing for the Carlisle United Park View Academy, who compete in the National Football Youth League – finishing top last season in the Premier North.

Speaking to https://www.yorkcityfootballclub.co.uk, assistant-manager Micky Cummins said: “He’s come from high-end college football, but he has shown a lot of maturity for his age and a lot of qualities to make a decent career in the game.

“We were aware of him when we were at Gateshead and have monitored his situation – we now think the time is right for him to come into full-time men’s football.

“He has coped really well with the demands so far, we have a really good group who push each other, and he has fitted in pretty well.”

Sunderland-born King had been training with the team throughout pre-season and impressed the management in the warm-up fixtures.

Cummins added: “Josh can see a pass, reads the game really well and will take the ball under pressure.

“He’s a good learner and we will coach him – one for the future but certainly a player we can throw in if we do have an injury crisis”.