Derry City look to add to their firepower by signing David McDaid

Derry City have sought to strengthen their title challenge with the re-signing of last year’s top scorer David McDaid, who was available after parting company last week with English League Two side York City.

McDaid, who scored 17 goals in 40 games for the Brandywell outfit last season, will further add to manager Declan Devine’s attacking options, as he seeks to build on a strong start to the season.

The league’s top scorers currently lie three points behind leaders St Pat’s with a game in hand and, like the Dubliners, will be playing European games over the coming weeks.

Goalkeeper Eugene Ferry has also returned to the club while left-back Dean Jarvis, a local who was previously at Aberdeen for a couple of seasons, has been recruited from Irish League side Institute.

“The three signings add great depth and strength to our squad especially with the very busy period we are now entering into,” said Devine.

In a surprising move, meanwhile, Liam Buckley has taken Shelbourne striker Philly Hughes to Richmond Park on loan until the end of the season. The 31-year-old was a key figure at Tolka Park over the last couple of seasons but he has failed to score in 20 competitive games this year and leaves as new manager Johnny McDonnell seeks to free up a part of his budget in order to sign players for the Premier Division strugglers, who play Peterborough United in a friendly this evening.

Hughes previously played for St Patrick's for a spell that ended in 2003 and moved about a fair bit after that. Then Shelbourne manager Alan Mathews' gamble on bringing him back paid off handsomely when his goals went a long way towards securing promotion for the club a couple of seasons ago. However, it's hard to see what sort of impact he can make at a club where Christy Fagan has been playing well up front and Anto Flood would be expected to be next in line.

Samir Carruthers, Graham Burke and Michael Drennan have all signed new two-year deals with Aston Villa. The three Irish underage internationals all impressed last season, playing big parts in the club's NextGen success.

“I want to be playing (for the first team) every single week,” said Carruthers. “If I can keep fit and avoid injuries you never know. The first game is against Arsenal and all of the places are up for grabs. I’ve just got to try and work hard now.”

Tickets for Villa’s pre-season friendly against Shamrock Rovers on Sunday, August 4th in Tallaght go on sale at the club at noon today.