Derry City sign Portuguese winger Kévin dos Santos
Derry City boss Tiernan Lynch continues to strengthen his squad with the addition of Portuguese winger, Kévin dos Santos who has joined the club on a two-year deal from Atletico Ottawa.
The 26-year old travelled to Spain with the City squad last week and impressed with his pace and attacking style of play and Lynch acted quickly to secure his signature.
The arrival of the winger bolsters City’s attacking options which is already the envy of the League of Ireland with James Clarke, Darragh Markey, James McClean, Josh Thomas and James Olayinka all adding creativity in the final third.
With Player of the Year Michael Duffy, Gavin Whyte, Liam Boyce and Dipo Akinyemi added to that line-up, Derry City fans should see plenty of excitement in the 2026 campaign.
In Portugal, Dos Santos was in the academies of of U.D. Vilafranquense and Vitória de Setúbal before a couple of seasons in the UK, initially with Tadcaster Albion where his display in an FA Cup tie against Darlington impressed the opposition so much that they signed him.
In 2024 he made the switch to the Canadian Premier League, signing for York United (now known as Inter Toronto) before his move to Ottawa where they were crowned champions after winning the end-of-season play-offs.
He said he was delighted with the chance to bond with his new team mates on the Spanish trip and that he was looking forward to helping the Candy Stripes compete for silverware.
“I didn’t know an awful lot about the League of Ireland before I signed, but I’ve seen straight away with the quality in our squad that it’s a high standard,” he said. “My game is about positive, attacking play and using my pace to get at defenders. I can’t wait for the season to start and to play in front of our big support.”