Kieran Sadlier said Sean Maguire's love for Cork convinced him to make the move to Leeside from Sligo Rovers, and shared his desire to take his game to the next level.
Sadlier made the move on Monday after a year and a half at the Showgrounds.
He links up with the Airtiricity League Premier Division table-toppers just a few weeks before his ex-West Ham United team-mate Maguire goes across the water again to Preston North End, but the prolific striker had a huge influence on silky midfielder Sadlier coming to Leeside.
"It's a pleasure to be here," Sadlier said at his unveiling.
"He's one of my best friends from when I was at West Ham. He loves it here."
"When the offer came to play for Cork it was a no-brainer really.
"I spoke to Seany a lot. He's one of my best friends from when I was at West Ham. He loves it here. Seeing the players that have left... I want to see how far I can go.
"It’s something I looked at hard, going to the next stage of my career. At a young age, playing in Europe and being in a team that’s winning consistently, it was an important part of my decision to come here.
"I’m looking forward to playing at a higher level.
"It's a winning team, a very consistent team. It's going to be hard to break in. I don't think I'm going to just walk in to the team. I'm here to work hard, train hard and get in the team in the right way.
"I'm a very attacking, forward thinking player. I think I'll fit in quite well. It will be easy to gel with the boys."
The Republic of Ireland U21 international was born and raised in Sussex but qualifies for Ireland through his Tipperary-born grandfather.
John Caulfield, who will also lose defender Kevin O’Connor to Preston in the next few weeks, was thrilled at his capture, and said the 22-year-old is the right fit for a hungry squad that can do no wrong right now.
"With the departures of the lads, we wanted to make sure we got someone in we feel can keep the momentum going," said the manager. "We're thrilled about that.
"He’s been in our league for the last couple of years. He’s been probably the top player for Sligo; creates a lot of chances, score a lot of goals and he’s very versatile. From our point of view it gives us that versatility, so we’re looking at different options.
"Critically for us we're getting a player who knows our league, but as well as that we feel he'll blend in with the squad of players we have. They're so determined and there's such a great spirit amongst them, you must have the right people coming in who can join the group and be part of it. We feel he's that type of guy."
