Derry City have further bolstered their squad for the new season with the triple signing of experienced midfielders Robbie Benson, Dom Thomas and Carl Winchester.
Benson, 32, arrives from Dundalk with over 300 League of Ireland appearances under his belt. He has won three titles and two FAI Cups in a fine career.
Winchester, 31, spent time with Cheltenham, Forest Green Rovers and Sunderland in England before arriving at Shrewsbury on loan for the 2022/23 season. He joined the Shrews permanently ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, and was voted the club's Player of the Season.
Thomas, 28, joins from Queen's Park in the Scottish Championship where he was the club captain, making 23 appearances so far this season and chipping in with 7 goals. The Glaswegian came up through the youth ranks of Celtic and Motherwell has played for a host of other sides in the SPFL pyramid including Kilmarnock, Dunfermline, Dumbarton and Queen of the South.
Candystripes boss Tiernan Lynch expressed his satisfaction at bringing in three more seasoned operators having already added Northern Ireland internationals Liam Boyce, Gavin Whyte and Shane Ferguson to his squad over the off-season.
"Robbie is going to be an unbelievable asset to this club and probably might not get the attention of others, but I think he's one with a vast amount of experience in the League of Ireland, has league/cup medals already in his pocket and has played in major games," said Lynch.
"We've been very, very fortunate with the players we’ve been able to bring in and the experience will be invaluable to us.
"When I met with Carl, he was in a situation where he wasn't sure what he wanted to do. He was captain of Shrewsbury in League One and we got the chance to tell him all about our vision for Derry City, where we want to go and what we want to do. We’re obviously very ambitious and he bought right into the plan."
Meanwhile Sligo Rovers have brought in full-back Harvey Lintott (above) on a half-season loan deal from League One side Northampton Town.
Lintott, 21, will stay at the Showgrounds until the end of June.
The Englishman made his professional debut for Gillingham in August 2021 having come through the club's youth ranks.
He moved on to Northampton a year later and helped them achieve promotion to League One at the end of the 2022/23 campaign where he has made over 50 first team appearances.
"I was really impressed with what John (Russell) had to say and his ideas during our discussions regarding the project here," he said.
"There's a history here with a passionate fan base and I hope to be able to help the club push on.
"I think European football has to be the target and we'll be doing all we can as a group to achieve this."
Drogheda United have added American defender Owen Lambe to the ranks.
Lambe joins the Drogs after making 64 appearances across two seasons for from USL Championship side Orange County SC, helping them reach the Conference Semi-Finals in both 2023 and 2024.
Prior to joining Orange County, Lambe made 61 appearances across two seasons with LA Galaxy II in the USL Championship, while also making one appearance for the LA Galaxy first team, scoring in a 3-2 US Open Cup win against California United Strikers FC.
An Irish passport holder, Lambe joined the team for training on Monday morning for the first time.
"Owen is a really exciting right-sided defender," said Droga manager Kevin Doherty.
"He can play right-back, right wing-back, and a number of other positions. He's very versatile, but was predominantly a right-back at Orange County.
"We’ve been watching him for a while now. He played every minute of every game in the USL Championship last year, which is a really high standard. He’s a great fellah too, and he really wanted to make the move when I spoke to him."
