Northern Ireland winger Gavin Whyte has signed for Derry City completing an outstanding couple of days for the Candystripes who have also captured his international team-mate Liam Boyce from Hearts.
Whyte has opted to join Derry having been courted by clubs across the island for weeks since the Belfast Telegraph revealed in November he was ready to play again after leaving Portsmouth in August to come home for family reasons.
There was strong interest in the 28-year-old from Coleraine, Ballymena, Glentoran and his old club Crusaders while Dublin teams Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians were also interested but it is Derry City who have won the race.
Whyte will become the third Northern Ireland ace to commit his future to the Brandywell outfit following on from another free agent Shane Ferguson making the move in December and Boyce who arrives from the Scottish Premiership this month.
Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph last year when asked what he was looking for when choosing a new side, Whyte said: “I want to win trophies and go to a team that can do something special and one that is the right fit for me.”
New Derry boss Tieran Lynch will be delighted to have landed Whyte who he has known since the former Oxford United ace was a teenager.
There will be a feeling at the Brandywell that Boyce and Whyte have the attacking qualities to make Derry contenders for silverware this season after the disappointment of last term when under Ruaidhri Higgins they lost the FAI Cup final to Drogheda and finished fourth in the league after being in contention for the title for most of the campaign.
Lynch is intent on delivering success to Derry having guided Larne to back to back Premiership titles and the group stages of the Conference League prior to leaving Inver Park in November.
He will view the signings of Boyce and Whyte – along with Fergiuson – as statements of intent and there will be further new arrivals.
With his Hearts contract up at the end of the season and no longer a regular with the Scottish side, former Cliftonville hero Boyce was keen on a permanent move home and felt Derry was the club for him.
A popular figure amongst the fans at Tynecastle at 33 he has much to offer and it is believed will sign a contract that will keep him at the Brandywell for a few years.
With Boyce joining Derry, that helped Whyte make up his mind that his future lay with the Candystripes.
On Friday Coleraine boss Dean Shiels said his club were no longer in the running for Whyte who will hope to make the same stunning impact in the League of Ireland that he did in the Irish League when he inspired Crusaders to title glory in his last season at Seaview in 2018 before transferring to Oxford.
Derry City’s pre-season training for the 2025 campaign is well underway though today’s friendly against Finn Harps was called off due to weather conditions.
Lynch’s team are scheduled to start for real away to League of Ireland champions Shelbourne on February 14 with their first home match against Bohemians a week later.