Cork City have made a late move to strengthen their squad on the eve of the new SSE Airtricity Premier Division by signing Arsenal Under-23 defender Joseph Olowu and QPR winger Deshane Dalling on loan.
The 21-year-old Olowu, who plays at centre back joins Neale Fenn's side having made 11 appearances for the Gunners’ U23 team in Premier League 2 this season.
Speaking after arriving on Leeside, Olowu said: "It's a pleasure. It was an exciting opportunity when I first heard it, and thought that it’d be good for me to further my footballing career.
"Neale explained to me the kind of football he wants to play - he wants to get it on the ground, play exciting football to get the fans on side, so that sounded good to me, to be honest.
"On a personal note, I want to get a lot of game time in, and play as much football as possible and on a team basis, I want to help this team get into good position and keep pushing on for the season."
Fenn revealed his joy at getting Olowu in before the start of the season.
"It's taken a while to get it over the line," he said. "We have just been awaiting international clearance for the last few days, so we are very pleased to have now received that.
"We are very grateful to Arsenal for their help in getting this deal done. Joseph has been training with us for a while, he’s a centre back, he reads the game really well and obviously from being at Arsenal, he’s very good on the ball which is something we like at this club.
"He’s quick and he’s strong so he’s got all the attributes you could ask for."
The news of Olowu's deal came just after Cork confirmed that they had sold their sell-on clauses for Sean Maguire and Alan Browne to Preston North End.
Dalling joins on a loan deal from QPR until June, subject to international clearance.
Dalling, a 21-year-old winger joins from parent club QPR, where he has made one FA Cup appearance for their senior team, having had a previous spell with Huddersfield Town.
Deshane said: "I am delighted to be here and just can't wait to get going now. I had my first training session today with the team and really enjoyed it, there is a great buzz amongst the squad.
"I am a direct, fast player who loves being in one-on-one situations, playing from the wing. I want to do my best for the club and fans, I am very grateful for the opportunity."
Cork get their 2020 SSE Airtricity League Premier Division campaign underway on Friday night against Shelbourne at Turner’s Cross.
Follow all the weekend's SSE Airtricity League Premier Division action with our live blogs on RTÉ Sport Online and the News Now App and watch Bohemians v Shamrock Rovers live on RTÉ2 from 1.30pm Saturday
