The boisterous cries of “BOOOOOOOTSMA” are to reverberate around the grandstands for a while yet, with confirmation that Josh Bootsma has signed with Carlton for the 2014 and ’15 seasons.

The Club’s General Manager – Football Operations Andrew McKay said Carlton had made a further investment in its future in signing Bootsma, originally taken with its first round draft selection (No.22 overall) in 2011.

And he envisaged that Bootsma, whose football journey had taken him from Albany to South Fremantle and ultimately to Carlton, would be a vital figure in the Club’s medium to long-term plans.

“Josh is obviously an important player of the future with his height and his reach and his running power,” McKay said.

“As he improves, we’ll see more of that running ability he’s got as a rebounding defender. He’s got a good kick on him, good skills, and he runs quite well.”

As for putting pen to paper, Bootsma says he had no hesitation. The softly spoken 20-year-old says he sees his future at Visy Park.

“I’m just happy to be in Melbourne and at this Club – it’s been great and we’re a great team.

“Mick (Malthouse) has been fantastic and like a father-figure. He has always backed me and I feel like he’s really helped my development.”

Bootsma, who wears the No.21 guernsey made famous by Carlton’s games record holder Craig Bradley, is just 14 games into his senior career.

But he’s already won the respect of his contemporaries, amongst them Andrew Walker, who said of Bootsma after the Round 20 Western Bulldogs contest: “It’s like he was reading the ball like a forward and playing a defensive role, so he was first to the ball and was defending like his life depended on it”.

Bootsma joins the fast-growing list of players to have already committed to Carlton this season, including Chris Judd, Zach Tuohy, Dennis Armfield, Andrew Carrazzo, Sam Rowe, Lachie Henderson and most recently Matthew Watson.