Shamrock Rovers have completed the signing of striker John McGovern from Dungannon Swifts for an undisclosed fee.
The 22-year-old will be eligible to play from 1 July.
He scored 14 league goals in 29 appearances last season in the Irish League, having joined Swifts from his local club Newry City.
The Hoops say negotiations took place for several weeks to agree a deal with Swifts.
McGovern also netted the opening goal in the recent Irish Cup final against Cliftonville, with Dungannon winning 4-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw after extra time.
He has also played senior Gaelic football with Down, winning a Tailteann Cup.
Manager Stephen Bradley has revealed he has been trying to sign McGovern for over a year.
The Hoops boss explained: "We tried quite a bit over the last year to get him, but it wasn't possible. John was at university and Dungannon weren’t ready to sell at that moment in time.
"It was a case of continuing to monitor John and thankfully we’ve got him in now. We could have moved in on other players in the previous window, but we wanted to wait on John as he was someone we’d monitored for quite some time.
"He fits the group, has a good age profile and we really like what he’s about. So we waited and now we got it done.
"I don’t think out-and-out poachers can play in this team, as silly as that sounds, I don’t think they can. There’s so much more we ask of our forwards to do and be involved in.
"So John isn’t just an out-and-out goalscorer. If you watch him, he’s got a bit of everything, he’s someone we really like and he’s a really good person and we can’t wait to get working with him."
He could make his debut on 5 July against Sligo Rovers and will be available for the UEFA Conference League qualifying campaign later in the month.
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