Shaun Kelly pictured with Peter Cherrie in Oriel Park on Tuesday afternoon

Shaun Kelly has become the latest player to be added to Ian Foster’s squad after signing a new one-year deal at Oriel Park on Tuesday evening. The 20-year-old right-back made 33 appearances in all competitions for Dundalk last season, but his future at the club had been in doubt recently after he spent time training with Galway United. However, the promising young defender has decided to sign for the Lilywhites, saying it is “the best move” for his career.

Kelly ‘delighted’
“I’m absolutely delighted, I’m just after putting pen to paper there,” Shaun exclusively told dundalkfc.com moments after signing. “That’s it done and dusted, thank God, because it has been a long three months waiting. I’m just glad to be back at the club now. I had a deal at Galway, but I think personally this is the best move for me, and I wanted to stay here the whole time. I made my feelings clear that I wanted to stay, so I’m delighted to sign.

Foster talks
“I met with Ian in December and we spoke about what he wanted and things,” the former Heart of Midlothian defender added. “We kind of took a break over Christmas and got back in touch in January, and then we spoke again and he talked about coming here. I’m just happy to sign now. I went to Galway, really just to speak to them, I had to keep my options open because obviously as a footballer you don’t know what can happen. I just went down to speak to them but in the end I always thought there was only going to be one outcome.

Season aims
“I’m delighted with the deal,” he concluded. “I just need to crack on now and get on with pre-season. It’s a one-year contract, but hopefully if I can do well during the season, Ian and Wayne (Hatswell) are on two-year deals, so hopefully if they’re impressed they’ll be wanting people to stay on. Hopefully, if I can impress then I’ll stay on again next season. Obviously, the full squad isn’t put together but there has been talk about a few players coming in, and I think if we can get a few more quality players in the side then I don’t see why we can’t challenge to be up around third or fourth this season. I should be improving again this year too as it’s my second season in the league, so I’m looking forward to it. I’ve only done two days training with Ian so far and I’ve been really impressed, but I just want pre-season to be over and to get on with the games!”

Hearts history
Kelly is a right-sided defender from Killybegs, County Donegal, who last season returned from over two years at Hearts in Scotland. Before making the move to Tynecastle in the summer of 2005, Kelly played with local side Saint Catherine’s alongside former Sligo Rovers and current Everton defender Seamus Coleman. However, during his time abroad the youngster failed to make a competitive first-team appearance - he did appear in a handful of first-team friendlies - although he was regularly involved in the youths and reserves side. As a result of not enjoying his football, the defender’s stint in Edinburgh mutually came to an end last January.

Dundalk move
He was soon the subject of interest from both Dundalk and Finn Harps, the club he supported growing up, as well as Scottish Second Division side Raith Rovers. It was the interest that Sean Connor had shown in him during the previous 18 months, however, that swayed his decision to join Dundalk and in early January he signed on at Oriel Park. “Shaun is a player I have been tracking for a year and a half,” Connor said upon Kelly’s unveiling. “I tried to get him to Bohemians and couldn't make it happen so I'm delighted to sign him for Dundalk. Kelly made his competitive debut for the club in their opening night league defeat by Bohemians on 6 March and has widely impressed during his first season with the Lilywhites.