DUNDALK HAVE COMPLETED the signing of their former captain Andy Boyle on a free transfer following his release from Preston North End.
The defender, capped once by the Republic of Ireland, joins Dundalk on a long-term contract from 1 July, the League of Ireland club announced this afternoon.
After helping the Lilywhites to three successive Premier Division titles, Boyle earned a move to Preston in 2017 alongside Daryl Horgan, but found first-team opportunities hard to come by at Deepdale.
During his time with Preston, the 28-year-old had loan spells with Doncaster Rovers, Dundee and Ross County before being released at the end of last season.
“I’m delighted to get the deal done,” Boyle said upon his return to Oriel Park.
“The changes to the place since I left are amazing. The facilities for the players here now, I think it shows the club is only going one way and I just want to be a part of it.”
Whilst captain of Dundalk, Boyle earned a senior international call-up from Martin O’Neill and made his Republic of Ireland debut as a second-half substitute against Iceland in March 2017.
He now links back up with Vinny Perth’s squad ahead of the second half of the League of Ireland season, with Dundalk leading Shamrock Rovers at the summit by five points.
The addition of Boyle to the squad also boosts the Lilywhites ahead of their Champions League qualifying campaign, which gets underway on 10 July.
“We’re really pleased to have Andy back, ” head coach Perth added.
“The difficulty when you sign players is that it takes them a while to understand how we do things and understand our ethos. But Andy knows what we’re about. He’s part of our culture, he’s part of what we’ve achieved over the last six seasons, so it’s a perfect fit for us.”
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