Jack Moylan is likely to leave Shelbourne and become the latest Irish import at Sincil Bank, according to reports that emerged late last night in The Irish Independent.
The 21-year-old is entering the final six months of his contract leaving a decision to be made by his current club. The League Of Ireland is in full swing, not ending until the end of the calendar year, meaning the attacking midfielder’s contract is not due to expire until December. The Imps could move to sign him then, however, this would mean that he will have a two-month gap with no football between the final game in November and the start of the January transfer window. In financial terms it’s not hugely beneficial either due to the player’s age the club would be due to pay compensation to Shels. The publication suggests that it would cost a compensation fee of 60,000 euros to sign him in the winter window.
It may therefore be beneficial for all parties to agree on a deal in the summer window. According to the report, a deal is yet to be agreed upon between the two parties but Mark Kennedy’s side could likely offer to either pay more than the compensation amount to sign him now or structure a deal that would involve various add-ons that would be beneficial to Shelbourne should we sell him later down the line. We’ve done similar deals in the past which means rather than a large initial outlay now, we could essentially pay for a chunk of the deal out of the proceeds of his sale later down the line.
There could however be one issue that may potentially hold up a deal, with the season ongoing Shelbourne will want to secure a replacement with the Irish window closing at the end of this month giving less than a fortnight to get the deal done. It has been mooted by the journalist that he could be signed and loaned back to the club for the remainder of the Irish season but I suspect the club wouldn’t be happy with this after recalling Freddie Draper from his loan due to a similar mid-season gap with no football. Shelbourne FC are owned by Hull City majority shareholder Acun Ilıcalı, meaning that the relationship could hold the answer to their issue. 19-year-old attacker Vaughn Covil is said to be an option from the Tigers, which could pave the way for a move to be approved.
Moylan is an exciting prospect on paper, we’ve already seen the talent Danny Mandroiu, Sean Roughan and glimpses of what Dylan Duffy can offer. Speaking to an Irish journalist yesterday, he believed that Moylan could be the best signing of the bunch. So long as he can acclimatise to English football he has the potential to kick on and either make a tidy profit later down the line or become a star player. This confidence may mean Shelbourne are more willing to accept a lower fee now for a sell-on percentage down the line.
One comment he mentioned stood out to me above anything else; “He has a brilliant head on his shoulders, a lovely guy with a professional manner”. Too often you see players arrive with bags of talent, but a bad attitude that impacts either themselves or even the squad as a whole. It further highlights the recruitment policy to not only sign good players but good people too.
Every transfer is a risk, but the proposed costs and due diligence that goes on behind the scenes could mean that Jez George may spend another season walking around with a smile on his face knowing that there is a good chance he’s unearthed another one. It’s unknown at this time whether the reports linking Tommy Leigh would be in addition to Moylan, or if the Accrington Stanley man was an alternative option.
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Gary is still occupied. I’ll provide coverage where I can in between time spent on The Real EFL, if you spot anything in the meantime please let me know!