BLACKPOOL HAVE ANNOUNCED the signing of Irish defender Brian Lenihan on a one-month loan.
The 20-year-old left Cork City to join Hull City for around €250,000 back in August but has yet to break into Steve Bruce’s first team.
After training with the Ireland senior squad for the first time last month, Lenihan was again named in Martin O’Neill’s extended panel for next week’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Scotland.
However, he will link up with Noel King’s U21s team which plays the US and Russia this month instead.
Blackpool manager Lee Clark was interested in signing the player when he was Birmingham City manager and says he is delighted to get him in on a short-term deal.
“We’re short on defenders anyway in the football club but certainly with Tony (McMahon) being suspended we had to move very, very quickly. Thankfully my relationship with Steve meant that we could get the deal done quite quickly,” said Clark.
I was watching him before he signed for Hull when I was Birmingham City manager. He’s very attack-minded and he’s got great energy to get up and down the park.
“I spoke to Steve Bruce and since he’s been at Hull he’s been very impressed by him. We’re going to enjoy working with him.”
Lenihan follows in the footsteps of Ireland’s current first choice full-back Seamus Coleman in joining the Tangerines on loan. Coleman spent half a season with the club in 2010 — helping them earn promotion to the Premier League.
“I was just talking to the manager at Hull and he told me that Blackpool were interested in taking me on loan. I wanted to jump at the opportunity and am really looking forward to it,” said Lenihan.
