SLIGO ROVERS MANAGER Liam Buckley expects Ryan De Vries to be a success in the League of Ireland after the club confirmed the signing of the striker this morning.
De Vries, who was capped once by New Zealand in 2015, joins the Showgrounds outfit subject to receiving a work permit and international clearance.
A three-time OFC Champions League winner with Auckland City, the 28-year-old most recently played with Japanese outfit FC Gifu. He was also a member of the Auckland side that finished in third place at the Fifa Club World in 2014.
“The deal has been agreed for a few weeks, we were just awaiting final documentation from Japan to get his release,” Liam Buckley said. “I’m delighted to get him in and we need him given our numbers up front. We hope he’ll be a major addition to us.”
Sligo have endured a difficult start to their 2020 Premier Division campaign. Along with Cork City, they’re one of two sides yet to register a goal or a point in their opening three games.
Defeats to Finn Harps (1-0 away) and St Patrick’s Athletic (2-0 home) were followed by a 2-0 loss to Bohemians at Dalymount Park last night.
The Bit O’ Red were hindered significantly during the off-season by the departure of Romeo Parkes, which forced Liam Buckley to go in search of a replacement for the club’s top goalscorer in 2019.
Of his new addition, Buckley added: “He’s quick, strong, has a great physique with a good touch and I can see him scoring goals. I spoke to people in New Zealand and they think he’ll fit comfortably in our league and do really well. We had a report from the New Zealand international manager, we’ve done our homework on him so we hope he does bring a lot to us.
“We need to get the work permit done before he can play. That will be a small bit of time but we hope to have him involved as soon as possible.
“We are disappointed with our start in the league. But as I said to the boys last night, the passion and desire we showed against Bohemians will bring us results if we keep showing it.”
Sligo’s next outing is Saturday evening’s home game against Waterford.
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