Will Seymore has become the latest player to sign with Sligo Rovers for the 2020 season, the club can confirm.
The 27-year-old midfielder joins from Reno 1868 where he spent a season and a half following a switch from FC Cinncinati.
The US midfielder lined out with former Sligo player Richie Ryan in midfield with Cincinnati in 2018.
Seymore played for Colchester United, Cambridge United, and Soham Town Rangers as a youngster having spent part of his childhood in England.
He played for Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 for two years (2015-2017).
Will is the 16th signing for 2020.
Will Seymore said: “It feels great to be here. This has been in the works for a while and I’m really excited now that it is done. I can’t wait to get started.
“I grew up playing English academies and moved to back to the US. Liam’s style of play and the way he wants to play attracted me here.
“He told me about the upsides of the club and the potential. He spoke about the things we could achieve and I like to win.
“One of the things I hope to bring is my mentality. Off the field I’m pretty easy going but on the field I’m agressive, determined and want to win at all costs.
“I can’t wait to build a connection with my team-mates and start the season on the right foot.”
Liam Buckley said: “Will is someone I’ve tracked for a couple of years. I think he is equipped to do very well in this league. He fits exactly into how we want to play. His range of passing, and his overall ability in that area, is why we’ve brought him here.
“He is also a big, strong lad and he has done well in the US. We’ve done our due diligence on him. We spoke to a couple of contacts in the US. One was Richie Ryan who John Russell was in contact with. Richie and Will played together and Richie spoke about how he reads the game well and has all the attributes to do well for us.”
It is the first time Buckley has signed outside of Ireland this window. He said it is an area that can reap rewards.
“It’s a small market here in Ireland in terms of recruitment. We’ve had the likes of Romeo, Lewis Banks, that have come in and done very well and I hope Will can rival them.
“Dundalk and Shamrock Rovers will hoover up the best out of contract players in Ireland. We will always look for the best value that we can get, wherever that may be.
“I think we have our midfield options finalised. We have the likes of David Cawley, Garry Buckley and Will now who are all of a similar age with lots of experience, but don’t be surprised to see Niall Morahan and Darragh Noone stepping up to show they should be in the team come the start of the season.
“We start pre-season with all of the players trying to earn their spot.
“John Russell is going to come into the mix too. I’ll speak about that again. That’s a good core group in the middle of the park.
“We have 16 players signed now, plus John to be added.
“I expect to sign one more player, I’m not going to put a timescale on that at the moment. From there we will look at things. We’ve tried to plan ahead. We believe the off-season programmes are working for the lads and when we start in January we’ll start as a finalised group or as close to it as possible.
“That doesn’t guarantee you anything. It doesn’t guarantee us a brilliant season. But I do think it gives us a better chance. We want to land running. We want to be better. This is another step towards that and we’re looking forward to 2020.”
