Stephen Bradley has added St Johnstone defender Ally Gilchrist to the Shamrock Rovers ranks ahead of the new campaign.
Gilchrist left the Saints last month December after six and a half years at the club. The 22-year-old centre-half had loan spells with Elgin City and then with Peterhead, but is relishing the chance to help Rovers progress from last season's third-placed finish.
"I'm absolutely buzzing to join Rovers," said the Scot. "It's been in the pipeline for a few weeks now and I'm just happy to get over the line.
"I was previously supposed to get something sorted on loan, I was training here last summer for a few days. I met the lads and the staff and it's a great set up. The club managed to get back in contact with me about a permanent deal. I just jumped at the chance and couldn't turn it down.
"Graham Cummins (a St Johnstone teammate) has gone back to play for his home team (Cork) as well so hopefully I get to play against him next season.
"I got along really well with Alan Mannus (ex-Hoops goalkeeper) and he spoke really highly of the club. He only told me good things, that everyone is very welcoming and it's a great standard."
Stephen Bradley revealed Gilchrist has been on his radar for a while, describing the move as a "no-brainer" for the Tallaght outfit.
"We had Ally over in the summer, he spent the week with us training and we were hoping to get him in then on loan.
"It didn't quite come off at the time but I kept in contact with Tommy Wright at St Johnstone since then and I've been over and watched one or two games over there.
"Four or five weeks ago Tommy came and we spoke about a possible deal and we were delighted when we knew we could get something done with Ally.
"There's no doubt that the time he had outside of St Johnstone as well has helped him come on in terms of the games he's played. You can tell he's been a professional for a number of years because of the way he trains, the way he carries himself and the shape he's in. For us it was a no-brainer to get him in."
