SLIGO ROVERS HAVE announced a loan move for Scottish forward Alistair Roy, subject to international clearance.
The 20-year-old, who can operate up front or on the wing, joins the Bit O’Red until 30 June, meaning he will potentially be available for 23 of the 36 SSE Airtricity League Premier Division matches this year.
Roy made his competitive debut for the Scottish Premiership side at the age of 17, but he has since had loan spells at East Stirlingshire, Stenhousemuir and Dumbarton.
Sligo boss Gerard Lyttle will be hoping he can bring an additional option in attack ahead of the 2018 kick-off, when they host Limerick at the Showgrounds next Saturday.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” said Roy. “I don’t want to sit on the bench, I want to be playing games, and that’s why I was happy to come to Sligo because there is a great chance to get more experience and impress people.
I did well at Dumbarton which was another level up and I want to do well here and help Sligo have a good season. I’ve spoken to people about the club in the last few days and they say it’s a great club.
“I’ve played most of my career as a striker but I’ve been converted to the wing recently. I play either or to be honest. The first game is just a week away and I want to be involved from the start so I’m looking forward to Saturday week already.”
Bit O’Red boss Lyttle added: “I’ve been tracking Ally for a month now. He made a really good start his career, getting in the first team early on, and as is the way in Scotland, he has been sent on loan up the levels to gain experience which he has responded really well to.
“We now have a player who has just played a lot of game in the Championship in the last few months, a good level, and you can see by the investment made in him by Hearts with the new deal in the summer what their plans are for him. From speaking to their staff, they rate him highly.
“He can play on the wing or up front, he’s pacey, can score and when he runs at players it makes him very hard to defend against.
I think he’s a fine addition to our group and now we have competition in that area. That’s absolutely vital for me because we didn’t have it in a lot of positons last season.
“I don’t want any player to think that they just have to do a minimum to get their place. There is more work being done to add to the squad with the plan to it being the case in other positions and we hope to have news over the next few days on that.
“Ally is coming here to play games and further himself with a view to possibly getting in that Hearts squad next season, a really big club in Scotland. It’s good business for us and we’re thankful to Hearts as well for making it happen.”
The 42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
