Derry City admit interest in signing Shamrock Rovers' Danny Lafferty

UP IN THE AIR . . . Danny Lafferty pictured challenging Derry City's Darren Cole in Tallaght last weekend, says his future is undecided. Photograph by Kevin Moore.

The Carnhill native’s current contract with Premier Division champions, Shamrock Rovers expires at the end of the season andHoops boss, Stephen Bradley has yet to approach the left-back about an extension.

That uncertainty will alert several League of Ireland and Irish League clubs who will no doubt be enquiring about his availability and City boss Devine admits he will be monitoring the situation.

“If Danny Lafferty became available and showed a willingness to come to Derry City, I think it would be reckless not to sit down and speak with him to see what he wanted to do,” revealed Devine.

“Danny has been a brilliant servant for this club in the past.

“It’s certainly something we will look at down the line and see whenever we get this season out of the way.But he’s a quality player. He was outstanding on Saturday and is a boy I have a lot of respect for.”

Of course Rovers would have the upper hand in any negotiations given their financial muscle and ability to offer 52 week contracts but Devine is keen on opening talks once the season concludes.

“I’m sure there will be a lot of clubs monitoring Danny’s situation but if he decides he’s leaving Shamrock Rovers, he’s certainly somebody we would like to sit down and talk to.”

The 31 year-old former Celtic defender, who won the First Division title with Derry in 2010, has a wealth of experience and completed the full set of League of Ireland honours when winning the league title with Rovers this year.

Lafferty, who has 13 caps for Northern Ireland, joined Rovers in August 2019 when released by Premier League side, Sheffield United.

Lafferty made seven starts in all competitions and five appearances from the bench this year but sustained a hamstring injury against Cork which saw him miss the Europa League tie against AC Milan.

He returned to the team as a substitute against St Pat’s last week and started Saturday’s 2-0 win over Derry having fully recovered from a positive Covid-19 test.

When pressed about his future after Saturday’s game, Lafferty said he hoped to initiate talks soon but was fully concentrated on finishing the campaign with Rovers’ attempts to clinch a ‘double’.

“It’s undecided,” he admitted. “I have no idea at the minute what’s going to happen. There are still games to be played but I don’t know yet.

“Our focus is the cup and that’s my personal focus as well. Hopefully we can do well.

“There are still games to play and then hopefully, we can sit down and talk about my future. That’s where it’s kind of at right now.”