Dundalk have continued to plunder the British leagues with a pair of new loan signings.
Dundee United defender Mark Connolly has signed a six-month deal, while Wales U21 international Daniel Williams arrives on a season-long deal from Swansea City.
Williams is the third Welsh U21 international to sign for Dundalk in the close season, following the arrivals of goalkeeper Nathan Shepperd and attacking midfielder, Joe Adams from Brentford.
30-year old Connolly started his career with his local club Monaghan United before a move to Wolves. He once commanded a £1million transfer fee, with Bolton shelling out the fee on transfer deadline day in 2009.
Connolly would never make a senior appearance for Bolton, and would instead kickstart his career at Crawley Town. A move to Kilmarnock followed in 2014, before returning to Crawley.
He landed at Dundee United in 2019, and has made over 60 appearances for the Tannadice club.
“I’m really excited and really buzzing to be here,” Connolly told DundalkFC.com, “It’s been a long time coming and it hasn’t been a great secret but it’s something I really wanted and I’m delighted it’s done.
“It was a huge decision for me to come home. It’s been almost 15 years since I went to England as a teenager and it’s a decision I didn’t take lightly.
“Unfortunately, last year my father passed away and I wanted to be closer to my family but, as well as that, I believe I’m coming home to the right club.
“When I moved away, I always kept an eye on Dundalk. To me, it’s a club that has put League of Ireland football on the map with their results in the Europa League group stages.
“I wanted to be part of something exciting and I think that’s the case here. There’s a fresh slate, there are new faces and Stephen O’Donnell is trying to build a togetherness at the club. It’s the start of a new era and I really can’t wait to get going now.”
Williams made his senior debut for Swansea in a Carabao Cup 1st round win at Reading. He went on to score in the following round at home to Plymouth.
The 20-year old is hoping to follow in the footsteps of his new boss at Oriel Park.
"I spoke to Stephen and when I got off the phone I told my parents everything that he said to me," he said, "The next day, I asked them what they thought and they told me I should go to Dundalk because of my reaction after that phone call.
“They could see that I was buzzing. I went to sleep that night really happy with the conversation and what Stephen’s plans were for the season ahead.
“He told me he played in a similar position to me, as a six, and he wants me to do the same things as he did, get on the ball and start play.
"He didn’t tell me how good he was, though, so I’ll have to watch the videos and people will have to fill me in on that!”
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