Derry City sign former Celtic starlet Joe Thomson

Thomson, who played alongside Arsenal's Kieran Tierney at Celtic, has signed a 18 month deal with the Candy Stripes and will be available when the 2020 SSE Airtricity League of Ireland Premier Division resumes on July 31st.

The 23-year-old midfielder is likely to be Declan Devine's first of many new additions during this month's transfer window, with the City boss desperate to freshen his squad up before the restart.

The Paisley man was on the books of the Parkhead club from 2009 before making a switch to Scottish Championship side Dunfermline Athletic in 2018, where he made 38 appearances for the Pars.

“Joe is quality. He made his senior debut for Celtic aged just 17 and has plenty of experience playing at a good level in Scotland,” stated Devine to the club's official website.

“Joe likes to get forward from midfield and he will give us great options in several positions. Our midfield looks really strong now, Jack Malone and Ciaron Harkin have also looked impressive since coming back. Factor in Conor McCormack, Gerardo Bruna and Conor Clifford and we have the options to go with two, three or four in the middle of the park as necessary.

“We are continuing to look to strengthen in other areas too and I have no doubt we’ll be ready to go at the end of the month.”

As for Mallon, who netted in Derry's only win of the season against Bohemians way back in February, will remain at the Brandywell for the remainder of the season after agreeing to extend his loan deal from the Bramall Lane club.

“I’m delighted with the business we’ve done today but we still have plenty of irons in the fire,” admitted Devine.

“Getting Stevie’s contract extended is fantastic for us. He’s a talented lad and has a huge future in the game.

“Lockdown probably came at the wrong time for him as he was absolutely flying, but he looks really sharp in training and I have no doubt Stevie will have a huge role to play for us when we start back up.”

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