FOOTBALL: Derry to bring in left-back

The 6ft left-back, who was at Brighton as a youngster, will train with the City players on Monday, as boss Kenny Shiels looks to strengthen his squad for the forthcoming season, which gets underway in a few weeks time.

The City manager, who didn’t want to be drawn on the speculation that midfielder Nicky Low may make a return to the Candy Stripes, has been on the lookout for a left-back after Dean Jarvis decided to move onto Dundalk.

“Gbenga was on Brighton’s books and he’s currently in America, but I’m bringing him in probably on Monday,” admitted Shiels.

“He’s a left-back, who is very mobile and has a lot of good qualities.

“We are bringing him in to have a look at him, plus it will give him the opportunity to see what our environment is like, he can see us and we can see him.”

The City players started pre-season training last week and they play their first pre-season friendlies next Friday evening (January 19).

One squad will travel to Dixon Park to face Ballyclare Comrades and another panel of players will make the trip to Inver Park to face a new look Larne team.

The likes of former City players Shane McEleney, David McDaid and Tommy Stewart are all likely to feature for Tiernan Lynch’s side, while Comrades, who currently sit in second spot in the Bluefin Sport Championship, will field their strongest team available.

Shiels is happy with how things are going and praised his squad for their hard work.

“All the boys are working really hard, some days they are having double sessions and we are trying to get us really ready for the season,” he added.

“We want to have a good push this season and try to quality for Europe again would be great.”