MIDDLESBROUGH goalkeeper Zach Hemming has joined League One side Leyton Orient on a season-long loan.

Hemming’s departure leaves Sol Brynn and Tom Glover battling for the number two spot behind established first-choice, Seny Dieng, next season.

Bishop Auckland-born Hemming spent last season on loan at St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership. He helped guide St Mirren to fifth place in the league and a place in the European Conference League for the 2024-25 season.

The 24-year-old made 46 appearances for the Scottish side and kept 15 clean sheets throughout the campaign.

He will spend next season in England’s third tier, having spent the last three seasons on loan in Scotland with both Kilmarnock and St Mirren.

His Boro team-mate, Brynn, spent last season on loan at Leyton Orient, making 42 appearances for the Brisbane Road club.

“I’m really pleased to sign for the club and can’t wait to start contributing to the team as much as I can,” said Hemming, who was a second-half substitute in Boro’s pre-season win over Bolton Wanderers at Bishop Auckland last weekend. “I really enjoyed my time in Scotland, and now I want to come down here and show what I can do.

READ MORE:

“I know Sol Brynn from our time together at Middlesbrough and he had so many good things to say about the place. You can tell there is a really good group of lads at the club. I spoke to Sol about Roycey (Leyton Orient goalkeeping coach Simon Royce), too, and he said how good of a coach he is. I’m really excited to get going now.”

Royce added: “We wanted to take our time with getting the right goalkeeper in. It’s a really important position for obvious reasons.

“Zach was mentioned to me last season when we had Sol here and I’ve kept a close eye on him since. He had a really good season last year at St Mirren, and also had a good spell at Kilmarnock before that.

“He’s 24 years old and is a really good prospect. We’re delighted to get his signing over the line.”