Former Derry City striker Cian Kavanagh joins namesake Brandon at St Patrick's Athletic

The 20 year-old became the second player from Ruaidhri Higgins' 2023 squad to join Derry's League of Ireland rivals in Inchicore this week, following in the footsteps of Brandon Kavanagh who joined the Dubliners on a multi-year deal for an undisclosed fee on Tuesday.

"I'm absolutely delighted we got the deal over the line," said Cian Kavanagh as he was unveiled at Richmond Park. "I've been here before so know what it's all about and can't wait to get started."The striker, who spent the past 18 months on Foyleside, returns to St Pat's where he played for the club's U15s and U17s before moving to Scottish Premier League side Hearts in August 2019.

After returning to Ireland with Waterford, Kavanagh earned a move to Brandywell in July 2022 and was part of the FAI Cup winning squad the following November.

He made 27 league appearances last term but will be remembered by Derry fans for scoring big goals in Europe against KuPs of Finland and Kazachstan outfit Tobol in the Europa Conference League qualifiers last summer.

The player scored his first Derry goal against St Pat's in a 1-0 win on Inchicore in September 2022 but he failed to nail down a regular place in the starting line-up.

He's excited for a new challenge in a Saints team which will have aspirations of winning the league title next season.

“I’m excited to be back, I know what the club is about and can’t wait to get started,” Kavanagh said.

“I’ve had good conversations with Jon Daly, he was the Assistant Manager at Hearts when I was there in the U20s and Sean O’Connor coached me in the Pat’s Academy too, so I can’t wait to get on the training pitch and hopefully it will be a good season.

"I'm buzzing to be here and can't wait to get started. My family are buzzing I'm back home too. I did well when I was at Pat's and got moved over to Scotland. Soon after I went to Waterford and from Waterford I went to Derry. So I've been around the league for a few years. I did alright at Derry, scored a few goals in Europe and that was the positives of last year but it's a new challenge this year and I'm looking forward to it."Pat's manager, Jon Daly was delighted to further bolster his squad.

“I’m delighted to get Cian in,” Daly added. “It’s an area of the pitch we’re looking to strengthen. Cian fits the profile we are after, he’s a young, hungry player, who wants to be successful. He’s someone I’ve had my eyes on since his days at Waterford where he was excellent, and in his time at Derry, he always impacted the games in a positive way and we are looking forward to getting him in and working with him,” added the Saints boss.