Dundalk FC is delighted to announce the signing of Welsh U21 goalkeeper Nathan Shepperd from Brentford FC.

Born in South Wales, Nathan started out at Swansea City’s academy before joining the West London outfit in the summer of 2019.

He went on to make 45 appearances for the Brentford B team, many of those as captain, and his performances saw him named as the club’s B Team Player of the Year in 2019/2020.

Shepperd made his international debut in a friendly against the Republic of Ireland in March 2021 and has been a regular in the Welsh U21 squad ever since.

“I really enjoyed my time at Brentford but I feel like the time is right now for me to move on and hopefully do really good things at Dundalk,” he told dundalkfc.com after completing his move to Oriel Park.

“A couple of my ex-teammates at Brentford and Swansea have come over to the League of Ireland and I’ve always looked out for them and kept in touch with them. Everything I’ve heard is good so why not?”

Nathan Shepperd. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile

Dundalk FC academy graduate Val Adedokun moved the other way last summer and Shepperd revealed that he had been picking Val’s brains over the past couple of days.

“I spoke to Val and he was telling me about the club. He spoke very highly of Dundalk and said it would be a good move for me, I didn’t really need much convincing after that. I’m buzzing and really happy to be here.”

“Nathan is at a good age and has a very good pedigree,” said Dundalk FC head coach Stephen O’Donnell. “He was named captain of Brentford’s B team shortly after he arrived there which shows his personality and he’s a player that will fit into the squad seamlessly.

“For goalkeepers, it can be hard getting a starting point as there’s only one position you can play and it can be hard to get onto the ladder so this is the next step for Nathan and we are delighted to have him.”

Shepperd becomes the seventh new face to arrive at Oriel Park ahead of the 2022 season, joining Robbie Benson, Paul Doyle, John Mountney, Keith Ward, John Martin and Sam Bone.