Towell on the brink of move to Hoops
By Daire Walsh
SSE Airtricity League Premier Division champions Shamrock Rovers look set to strengthen their hand for 2021 with the impending signing of Richie Towell on a pre-contract agreement.
Towell had been linked with both Rovers and his former club Dundalk in recent weeks, but has seemingly chosen Tallaght Stadium as his next destination.
According to a report on Independent.ie, the Inchicore native is expected to join The Hoops in the summer upon the expiration of his current deal at English League Two outfit Salford City.
This will be a major boost for Hoops’ boss Stephen Bradley, following the recent departures of Jack Byrne and Aaron McEneff to APOEL Nicosia (Cyprus) and Heart of Midlothian (Scotland) respectively.
During his three-year stint at Dundalk (2013-15), Towell enjoyed a remarkable level of success. He won a total of six trophies with the Lilywhites, including two Premier Division titles, an FAI Cup and a League of Ireland Cup.
Under the management of Stephen Kenny, he was named PFAI Young Player of the Year in 2013 and PFAI Players’ Player of the Year in 2015. The move to Dundalk helped to reignite the career of the ex-Crumlin United youth star, who had previously spent four years at Glasgow Celtic and enjoyed two loan spells at their SPL rivals Hibernian.
He later secured a transfer to Brighton & Hove Albion, but opportunities were limited with the Seagulls, and he was subsequently loaned out to Rotherham United in August 2017. After playing a key role in their march towards promotion from EFL League One, he sealed a permanent transfer to the Millers ahead of their 2018/19 Championship campaign.
After Rotherham suffered relegation from the English second-tier, Towell was snapped up by Salford – a club partly-owned by Manchester United’s famed ‘Class of 92’.
He remains a key part of their plans in the current term (he featured off the bench in a 2-1 defeat to Morecambe on Tuesday), but is set to bring his latest spell in the UK to a close in the coming months.