St Patrick's Athletic have moved to fill the void left by Tottenham-bound Mason Melia by bringing in New Zealand international Max Mata.
Mata, 25, arrives at Richmond Park having most recently been with Auckland FC, where he won the Australian A League last season.
He had an impressive 18-month spell with Sligo Rovers from February 2022 to August 2023, as well as a loan stint at the Showgrounds in 2024.
The striker has also played in New Zealand, America, Switzerland, Estonia and England.
"I'm really excited to have signed for a big club like St Pat's," he said. "Obviously I've played in the League of Ireland before and Pat's have always been a club that I enjoyed playing against, home and away.
"I know the league quite well having played there before, so I'm familiar with many of the teams, players and stadiums so that bit of familiarity for me was a big reason for wanting to come back to Ireland. Connecting back up with Aidan Keena after our time together in Sligo was another big pull factor for me."
Boss Stephen Kenny was full of praise for his latest signing, adding: "He is a traditional No 9, who has a high work ethic and will lead the line and bring a physical presence to the team.
"Max is a different profile to what we've had in that position. He's strong, links the play really well, attacks crosses and scores headed goals. Being part of a team that won the Australian A League is a huge success story.
"It's a World Cup year too. Now that he's come back from the injury that saw him miss the last couple of squads, he will be highly motivated to make a big contribution here at St Patrick's Athletic to be in the World Cup conversation."
Derry City have boosted their squad with the addition of Rob Slevin from Galway United.
The 27-year-old joins the Candystripes after three seasons with the Tribesmen and is City's second signing in recent weeks following the capture of Darragh Markey from Drogheda United.
The Cork native played with his hometown club, Waterford and Finn Harps prior to joining Galway and has established himself as an impressive performer in the top flight with Galway since being promoted two seasons ago.
Known primarily as a left-sided centre-half, Slevin can also operate at left-back if required.
He said: "I’m really happy to get it done. I know what Tiernan’s building here and I’m really happy to be a part of it and to get going.
"I’ve been coming up here and playing probably six years now and it’s never an easy game, think I’ve only won a few times which isn’t great but it’s good now.
"I'm really looking forward to getting started, I think its going to be a good challenge.
"Tiernan Lynch's plans for the club perfectly aligned with how I see my career going so it was a no-brainer for me and can’t wait to get going."
City boss Lynch is pleased with the capture of Slevin, adding: "This club’s all about honesty and hard work and it’s important we give the fans what they want. That hunger, that desire, that drive and heart on the sleeve, Rob gives us all of that."
Lynch has opted to make changes to his back line for the new season after Sam Todd and Mark Connolly departed the Brandywell. Connolly was not offered a new deal.
Todd has accepted an offer for Bohemians.
Meanwhile Galway have continued their bid to offset a number of losses from their squad by bringing former Canadian international Kris Twardek back to the League of Ireland.
The winger spent four seasons with Bohemians and Sligo Rovers before returning home to Valour FC.
Valour folded at the end of the last season, making Twardek a free agent, and allowing John Caulfield to pounce.
Caulfield said: "I'm thrilled to have signed Kris, I’ve had lots of conversations with him over the last number of months.
"I was always an admirer of him when he played with Bohs and Sligo. His enthusiasm and eagerness to come back to the league and play for Galway United is infectious.
"Our fans will be excited by his direct running, explosiveness and his style of play will create a lot of chances for us, giving us great opportunities to score goals.
"He’s in the prime of his career and is exactly the type of creative player we want to bring to Eamonn Deacy Park and excite our fans."
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