LAST UPDATE | 16 Nov 2023
LEAGUE OF IRELAND champions Shamrock Rovers have made Cork City’s Josh Honohan their first new signing ahead of next season’s historic five-in-a-row bid.
And Hoops boss Stephen Bradley believes that the 22-year-old defender possesses the same versatility that once made Liam Scales such an asset in Tallaght.
Honohan has been at Cork City since joining their academy from Carrigaline United in 2018, and was close to ever-present for the relegated Rebels this season as he started 32 league games.
“We’ve watched Josh for some time,” Bradley told the club’s website on Thursday.
“We’ve really liked him and monitored him for a number of months and we started conversations a while back.
“Josh is one who fits our profile of what we’re looking for. We think he has a really high ceiling and we feel that we can help him reach that.
“He’s got really good attributes. We feel he can only improve by coming to Rovers, so we’ll help him and he’ll help us.”
“Josh can play anywhere. He’s a sort of Liam Scales type player in that he can play wing-back or centre-back. He just plays the game. He can use both feet naturally which helps as well. So, he’s very comfortable playing as a wing-back or centre-back.
“We’ll mould him into what we see as his best position as time goes on, but as I say, Josh is one we’ve liked for quite some time.”
- Dundalk exit -
Elsewhere on Thursday, Dundalk FC confirmed that Daniel Kelly has left the club.
The 27-year-old attacker departs having joined around the same time as Stephen Kenny’s exit as manager ahead of the 2019 campaign.
Kelly helped the Lilywhites win the league title in 2019, while he also earned FAI Cup, EA SPORTS League Cup, FAI President’s Cup and Unite the Union Champions Cup winners’ medals.
The former Bohemians player was also part of the side that reached the group stages of the Europa League in 2020, while he scored 34 goals in 156 appearances overall.
“I had an amazing time at Dundalk,” Kelly told the club’s official website. “I won everything there is to win and I played in the Europa League group stages. It’s sad, but I just think it’s time for a change.”
– Additional reporting by Paul Fennessy
