Glentoran eyeing up move for Derry City's Jamie McDonagh

Irish Cup semi-finalists Glentoran are believed to have Derry City winger Jamie McDonagh on their transfer wanted list.
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Mick McDermott’s side are thought to be interested in the Lisburn man and while Derry City manager Declan Devine wouldn’t be drawn on the speculation, he did confirm that players would be leaving the club during this month’s transfer window.

McDonagh had attracted interest from a host of clubs including Crusaders and St Patrick’s Athletic in January, before re-signing with the Candy Stripes before the start of the 2020 season.

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“From my point of view we have a couple of players here that are available to other clubs, but we’ll wait and see what we can get in, before anyone goes out,” insisted Devine.

“God knows who might leave during this window, but we have to make sure that we get the right person in before we let anybody out and to be honest I’m not going to comment on any names.

“Yes, there’s certainly people that are attracting attention from other clubs and there’s other players at other clubs that we are trying to attract; but it’s just the nature of the time in the calendar year.

“There’s so much at stake at the minute that we have to make sure that our recruitment goes the right way.”

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Devine also confirmed that loanees Danny Lupano and Adam Liddle will not be back when the campaign gets underway later this month.

Derry City's Jamie McDonagh.Derry City's Jamie McDonagh.
Derry City's Jamie McDonagh.

“Adam and Danny won’t be returning. Danny is being retained by Hull, because they are in a dangerous position at the bottom of the (Championship) table, so he’s going to compete for a first team place. Grant (McCann) wants to keep him there. And Adam has been released by Reading and he’s now going to look for a club in England.

“So from my point of view that’s another few players that we are down. Again, we have to try and make sure that we get the right boys in.”

In positive news Devine hopes that Joe Thomson is the first of many new additions to his squad.

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The 23-year-old midfielder, who played alongside Michael Duffy at Celtic, has signed an 18 month deal, while Ireland winger Stephen Mallon has extended his loan spell from Premier League side Sheffield United until the end of the season.

Defender Danny Lupano will not be returning to Derry City this season.Defender Danny Lupano will not be returning to Derry City this season.
Defender Danny Lupano will not be returning to Derry City this season.

Thomson, who was on the books at Parkhead for close to a decade, had been playing with Scottish Championship side Dunfermline Athletic for the past two years.

“Joe has been a player who has been on the radar for a number of weeks,” said Devine. “He’s a talented player, a box-to-box type player and has a goal threat in him and he’s a very good professional. He came with high recommendations from all our contacts in Scotland.

“He has real good energy about him and was very keen to come to the club and we were very keen to bring him here, so I’m delighted to get that over the line.

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“Joe has got that experience having played over 100 odd games in Scotland and I’m also delighted to get Stevie sorted out.”

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