Derry City a great career path claims Danny Lupano

The talented defender, who joined the Candy Stripes on a six month loan from Hull before Friday’s transfer deadline, says gaining experience of senior football will improve him.

“I’m really excited as it’s a big opportunity for me to come and play men’s football and show what I can do,” he explained.

“It’s going to be a very, very good challenge and I can’t wait for the season to begin.”

The 19-year-old, who has impressed in the Tigers’ Academy, trained with his new team-mates and is expected to feature in tonight’s pre-season friendly, against Bray Wanderers at Abbottstown.

Lupano was thrilled that manager Declan Devine made the move happen and now can’t wait to get started.

“I heard from my agent that Derry City were interested but I had a game, so I didn’t really think they would make it happen. Then, the next day, my manager rang to say Declan really wanted to make the move happen,” he added.

“I was really excited that he wanted me to come in and thankfully we got things ironed out.”

The Belgian-born central defender is already looking forward to Derry’s opening game at champions, Dundalk, and while he concedes not knowing much about the league, he’s been impressed by what he’s seen watching clips on YouTube while Irish friends have also informed him about the league’s quality.

“I have watched some of the highlights of games on YouTube and I have got a couple of friends from Ireland who told me that it’s a tough league,” he insisted.

“Dundalk is a big game and I have watched a lot of videos and the manager was saying how good they (Dundalk) are and how good the league is. As I said, I’m really just excited and I can’t wait for the challenge.”

Having landed in Ireland last week before completing his move, Lupano has received a ‘nice’ Irish welcome with the cold conditions in Dublin but he has conceded the squad have made him feel very welcome.

“I have never been in Ireland before in my life so it was a bit of a shock in terms of how cold it was. Even training today, I can really feel how cold it is and I’m not used to it,” he joked.

“The boys have made me feel really welcome though. We’ve had a few training sessions and I felt good around that. All the boys made me feel good around them as well. Now it’s all about working hard and showing what I can do, giving 100 per cent of my abilities and trying to make the starting 11.”