LAST UPDATE | 20 Jan 2022
ST PAT’S HAVE signed Adam O’Reilly on loan from Preston North End.
The Cork man made his professional debut for Preston in December 2018 and has also had loan spells at Hyde United, Stalybridge Celtic, Bamber Bridge and most recently in the League of Ireland with Waterford.
The Ireland underage international trained with his new St Pat’s teammates this morning and could make his first appearance for the club in tomorrow’s opening pre-season game against Bohemians.
“I’m delighted to have joined such a massive club,” said O’Reilly. “I’ve got some experience in the league already (with Waterford) and played against St Pat’s. The team did so well last year, winning the cup and finishing second in the league, so I’m really excited to be here.
“I think my spell at Waterford had something to do with my loan to St Pat’s, I feel I did my best there and St Pat’s got in touch with Preston and I couldn’t really say no to the offer. I’m a box to box midfielder, I’ll be hoping to add some goals and do my best to benefit to the team and the club.”
Pat’s manager, Tim Clancy, added: “Adam really impressed at Waterford in his loan spell last season and is a player I’ve been monitoring for a while. He’ll add a lot to our midfield options and is exactly the type of player we want at the club.”
The Saints have also welcomed defender Tom Grivosti on a permanent transfer from Scottish Premier League side Ross County.
The Liverpudlian, 22, began his career at the Bolton Wanderers’ Academy before moving to Scotland and joining Ross County in 2017. There, he won the Scottish Championship title and the Scottish Challenge Cup (2018-2019 season), playing 11 times in the Scottish Premiership before most recently, featuring on loan at League 2 Elgin City.
𝙂𝙍𝙄𝙑𝙊𝙎𝙏𝙄 𝙎𝙄𝙂𝙉𝙎 𝙁𝙊𝙍 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙎𝘼𝙄𝙉𝙏𝙎!
— St Patrick's Athletic FC (@stpatsfc) January 20, 2022
Defender Tom Grivosti (@TomGrivo) has joined the club on a permanent transfer from Scottish Premier League side Ross County 📝
We are delighted to welcome the 22-year-old to Richmond Park 🤝#StPatsFC #Saints2022 🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/WGllThqoys
“Tom is a great signing for us,” Clancy said. “Jon Daly (Assistant Manager) knows him well from working in Scotland and we feel he’ll add a lot of our defensive options and the squad in general.
“With Lee Desmond moving to America, it was an important position for us to address and we’ve got some really good players in that area now.
“Tom has signed today along with the other centre-backs like Paddy Barrett, Joe Redmond and James Abankwah etc so we are in a good place.
“He is an excellent defender and very good on the ball, he’s at a great age too for a centre-back and he’s one that myself, Jon and the staff are excited to get working with.”
Grivosti, who will wear the number 5 shirt, added that he’s “really happy to be here,” and “can’t wait to get started,” having been impressed since Daly’s first approach.
“Everyone has been very welcoming,” he said. “I’ve heard a lot about the League of Ireland and I know we’ve got some big Dublin derbies at the start of the season so I can’t wait to be involved.”
Let’s go 😁🤙🏼 https://t.co/eOqtvgHSER
— Yoyo Mahdy (@Yoyomahdy98) January 20, 2022
Elsewhere in the league, Yoyo Mahdy has signed for Finn Harps from Shelbourne.
“I’m really excited to be joining the club,” the highly-rated 24-year-old striker told FinnHarps.ie. “Ollie [Horgan, Harps manager] got in touch and we’d a good chat about his ambitions for the club and his plans for me and where I fit in.
“A big reason I wanted to come to Harps is they’re an established Premier Division club at this stage, with some great players, a passionate fanbase and it’s really exciting to be a part of it.”
Horgan shared how “delighted” he is to have Mahdy on board. “He’s eager to get going and prove himself back in the Premier Division.
“It’s a testament to the support of the 500club that we’re able to bring the likes of Yoyo in who will hopefully be a big player for us in the season ahead. Fans getting behind us is absolutely vital to our success in what will be a savage division.”
The42 Rugby Weekly / SoundCloud
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