Dundalk have completed the signing of Andy Boyle, who will begin a second spell at the club on July 1.
The 28-year old centre-half originally left the Lilywhites for Preston North End in January of 2017, but failed to make an impact at the Championship side. The move would see Boyle handed his lone international cap with a 26-minute substitute appearance coming in the 1-0 friendly loss to Iceland in March 2017.
Over the past 18-months, Boyle has been sent out on loan to Doncaster Rovers, Dundee and most recently to Ross County with whom he helped win promotion to the Scottish Premiership last term. His return to Oriel Park sees Boyle attempt to breathe new life into his career, at a club where he won three consecutive league titles.
"I’m delighted to get the deal done,” Boyle told Dundalk's website, "The changes to the place since I left are amazing. The facilities for the players here now, I think it shows the club is only going one way and I just want to be a part of it."
Despite spending 2-and-a-half years away, many of the playing staff remains the same at Oriel Park. And head coach Vinny Perth was first team coach under Stephen Kenny during Boyle's first spell. "We’re really pleased to have Andy back, ” said Perth.
"The difficulty when you sign players is that it takes them a while to understand how we do things and understand our ethos. But Andy knows what we’re about. He’s part of our culture, he’s part of what we’ve achieved over the last six seasons, so it’s a perfect fit for us."
Boyle arrives in time to be part of Dundalk's UEFA Champions League qualifying campaign, which begins with the first leg of their first qualifying round tie with Riga FC on July 10. He also finds the club where he left them, at the top of the SSE Airtricity Premier Division.
