Dundalk have signed Welsh Under-21 international Dan Williams and defender Mark Connolly on loan deals from Swansea City and Dundee United respectively.
A graduate of the Swans' academy, the 20-year-old midfielder Williams will be at Oriel for the season. He made his first-team debut for the club in an EFL Cup tie against Reading in August 2021 and followed that up with a goal and an assist in their 4-1 win over Plymouth Argyle in the following round.
Williams has won six caps at U-21 level for Wales and scored in their 7-0 win over Gibraltar last November.
He put pen-to-paper on a new deal with Swansea earlier this week.
Connolly, a 30-year-old centre-back, could make his debut for the club in Tuesday night's friendly against Cobh Ramblers having agreed a six-month loan.
The Clones native has spent almost 15 years plying his trade in the UK.
"We really like the way the leagues are developing over in Ireland, and they provide a very competitive experience for the players going into senior football..."
"I had a chat with the gaffer, Russell Martin, at Swansea," Williams told dundalkfc.com. "I played a couple of cup games at the start of the season and he said the next step for me was to go out and get some first-team football. When I mentioned the possibility of the League of Ireland, he was happy with that.
"Now that I’m here, I just want to play as much as possible. Playing in the Under-23 league in the UK has its benefits when you’re 18 or 19 but at my age now I just want to get out and play in front of fans and improve as an individual."
Williams will link up with his fellow Welsh U-21 teammates Nathan Shepperd and Joe Adams who have already moved to Oriel Park.
Connolly [pictured above] has close links to Dundalk. As a teenager, he was part of the Dundalk Schoolboys League team that played in the Milk Cup and at tournaments abroad, lining out with former Lilywhites like Marc Griffin, Johnny Breen and Philip Duffy.
"It was the Dundalk Schoolboys League that got me to England," he said. "I got scouted playing for them and that connection is always something that's been at the back of my mind.
"I remember bag packing in my Dundalk gear to get the money to go to these tournaments.
"When you go to England and Scotland, sometimes you do forget about things like that but the older you get, you do look back at days like that. They were amazing days with amazing people and I’m looking forward to seeing those people again when the season gets underway."
Meanwhile St Patrick's Athletic have brought in Jack Scott on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Scott is the second youngest player in Northern Ireland Under-21s history, having made his debut against Finland in September 2019 aged 16 years and 353 days, he signed his first professional contract at Wolves a month later.
The 19-year-old ex Linfield right-back linked up with his new teammates for the first time in Dublin this morning.
Scott said: "It feels really good to be here at this big club and I'm looking forward to getting going. We've been in talks for the last while and I'm delighted to get the move done.
"It was nice to meet everyone, I know Darragh Burns as we played together at international level and I know Joe Redmond too from his time at Birmingham, it was good to get to know all the coaching staff too, every was looking sharp and the standard was very good.
"I'm looking to come here and get some first-team action to see what I can do. The club finished second in the league last year and won the cup so we'll be aiming to have a positive season."
Wolves' strategic player marketing manager, Matt Jackson, said: "Jack has been progressing really well since arriving at Wolves and having an Irish background, together with his international experience, means the move looks to be a natural fit.
"We really like the way the leagues are developing over in Ireland, and they provide a very competitive experience for the players going into senior football, although it’s going to be a slightly different experience for Jack because he’s going over to play in what is essentially a summer league.
"He’s joining a team who did very well last season and one that can give him the opportunity to gain European experience through the course of this summer as they take part in qualifying for the Europa Conference League, which will be brilliant for him and his continued development."
🇵🇹 #WelcomeChiquinho 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/pJsSUo61EL
— Wolves (@Wolves) January 17, 2022
Wolves later announced the signing of Portugal Under-21 international Chiquinho from Estoril.
The winger has signed a four-and-a-half-year deal at Molineux and becomes the second January signing for Bruno Lage's side.
Chiquinho, who moved to Estoril from Sporting Lisbon in 2019, helped the club back into the Portuguese top flight last season and has hit three goals in the Primeira Liga this campaign.
He becomes the latest Portuguese player to move to Wolves and follows the signing of Japan midfielder Hayao Kawabe, who joined from Grasshoppers last week.
