Derry City enquiries for League of Ireland strikers knocked back

​The Derry City boss confirmed there will be an announcement of a new arrival in the coming days with defender Sam Todd expected to follow former Dundee winger Paul McMullan through the Brandywell gates.

Higgins has also been in the market for a No. 9 since Colm Whelan sustained a recurrence of his ACL injury last month and it's understood Derry has made enquiries about the potential availability of top flight targets.

However, it quickly became clear it would prove difficult to prise them away from their respective clubs.

Those tentative enquiries were predictably knocked back and it's become clear League of Ireland clubs are unlikely to do any business when it comes to selling centre forwards, particularly in the summer window.

Liam Buckley recently declared Cork City hitman Ruairi Keating was 'going nowhere in the short-term' given the club's lack of cover in that area, when quizzed about potential interest from Derry while it's understood Sligo Rovers' valuation of Max Mata would rule out a move for the New Zealander.

The impressive Freddy Draper, who was on loan at Drogheda United from Lincoln, returned to the League One outfit last week and was on Higgins' radar, however, it's understood he will remain in England. The Derry manager remained tight-lipped on the situation when asked about his availability this week.

Meanwhile, Higgins refused to confirm if Carndonagh man Todd would be arriving from UCD this summer for a second spell at the club but he did reveal there would be a new arrival at the club as soon as the window officially opens on July 1st.

"Hopefully there will be an announcement in the coming days of one more and then we'll see what else is out there but we're working hard," he said.

"That's the one thing we can guarantee, whether we win, lose or draw, people at this football club work extremely hard to try and make it better every day. I've no doubt there's good times ahead here,” added the City supremo.