Whitehaven have signed Warrington Wolves Academy skipper Ellis Gillam.

The 20-year-old second-row forward has agreed a one-year deal with the Recreation Ground club.

Cumbrian-born Gillam has been a mainstay of the Warrington Under-19 side having appeared 18 times this last season, in which, he crossed for eight tries.

Gillam was born in Barrow and played his junior rugby for Barrow Island before signing for the Wolves at the age of 14.

After he had signed for Whitehaven, Gillam said: “I’m looking forward to the year ahead at a new club and excited to be part of a team pushing for promotion back to the Championship.

“I was keen to join one of the Cumbrian teams, so my agent and I got in touch with Carl [Forster] and it went from there.”

Whitehaven’s player-coach Forster was delighted to have recruited a young Cumbrian forward with great potential.

Forster said: “I’m made up to get Ellis on board.

"He’s come through a top professional system at Warrington and being Under-19 captain shows the type of character he is.

“He’s only young and is a big lad with good skills. We’re happy to get him on board after other clubs showed a lot of interest in him.

“I’d like to thank Graeme Taylor, his agent, for making the deal happen and I look forward to seeing Ellis in a Whitehaven shirt.”

Gillam was spotted during one of Warrington Wolves’ coaching camps at Barrow Island and was monitored, from an early age, by the club’s Cumbrian scouting network.

When he first joined Warrington, he was seen as either a centre, second-rower or loose-forward. As he developed with the Wolves, it was as a second-row forward that his future was mapped out for.