JORDAN BALDWINSON has made his loan switch to York City Knights permanent until the end of the season - providing head coach James Ford with a big timely boost.

Ford said last week he hoped to keep the strapping six-footer at Bootham Crescent beyond his one-month loan from Wakefield Trinity, and, following last weekend's win over Batley, he asked for more support from the club to assist the high-riding team's push for an unlikely play-off place.

The Knights have duly come to an agreement with Wakefield and the 24-year-old prop to bolster Ford's front-row options.

Baldwinson himself said it was "no-brainer" to put pen to paper, adding that York's players and fans had "accepted me with open arms".

Said Ford: "I'm really happy. I think Jordan's come in and played to a good level. He's a very competitive front-rower. He gets through a lot of work and he fits in well with us.

"I don't think we've seen the best of him. He wants to be the best he can be, which is a great trait, and I'm looking forward to seeing him play to his full potential."

Baldwinson made his bow for York in the Challenge Cup defeat at Widnes on April 13 - scoring a debut try - and has featured heavily in all four games since. The fact Wakefield had allowed him to be cup-tied suggested they would be open to letting him leave, and so it has proved.

Asked if the length of Baldwinson's new contract suggested the player was aiming to return to Super League next year, with these next five months in the Championship providing an opportunity to put himself in the shop window, Ford reasoned: "I'm sure Jordan has aspirations to play at the highest level he can. But we do too.

"We have aspirations to continue growing and moving forward."

He added: "We will worry about next year later down the line. We have some big games in front of us which will be a tough challenge and we want to make sure we win as many as possible."

Baldwinson is a product of the Leeds Rhinos academy and, in addition to two spells and 16 appearances in Leeds' first-team ranks, he had a stint down under with New Zealand Warriors, which included a loan spell at Bradford Bulls, followed by a successful time with Featherstone Rovers.

He was named the Championship Young Player of the Year in his first full season with Fev in 2015, and, after rejoining Leeds, returned to Post Office Road on dual-reg in 2016 and 2017. He made 76 appearances in all for the Flatcappers.

He signed a two-year deal with Wakefield ahead of the 2018 campaign and made four Super League appearances for Trinity last term prior to joining Championship big guns Leigh then Halifax, both on loan, turning out for Fax in the Middle Eights at the end of last season.

Baldwinson said of his switch: “When Fordy approached me after my loan was up and suggested I could sign for York it was a no-brainer.

"Wakefield made it clear to me that they didn’t have any intentions of playing me and I have loved my time on loan so much I couldn’t grab the pen quick enough.

“The players and fans have accepted me with open arms and I can’t thank them enough.

“My focus is to help York finish as high as possible in the table and personally I want to keep improving and being the best player I can be. I’m sure under Fordy I can achieve that.”