Sligo Rovers can confirm that striker Luke Pearce has joined the club on loan from Cardiff City until the end of the 2024 season. The 20-year-old joins the Bit O’Red subject to international transfer clearance.

Pearce began his career at Walsall before being picked up by Southampton where he spent three seasons as a regular in both the B and U21 teams. The young attacker also spent time on loan at Torquay and Eastbourne before joining Cardiff earlier this month. 

Pearce has been capped by both the Irish under 18s and 19s and qualifies for the Republic through his mother who hails from County Sligo. 

“I know quite a bit about Sligo and Rovers already through my mum’s family. It’s a really big deal for my family for me to be joining on loan for a while”. he says. “I cannot wait to get out there and play in front of the fans.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing how I can do in the League of Ireland. I know it’s a very competitive league and Rovers are doing well at the moment based on recent results. I’ve only been here a short while but I can feel the positivity around the club, both on and off the field. I am really looking forward to picking up some first team experience here and helping Rovers kick on in the league and of course there’s the FAI Cup to come very soon so I’ll be looking to make an impact.”

Commenting on his latest acquisition, Rovers boss John Russell says Pearce is a player he has tracked for some time.

“Luke is a player I’ve been keeping an eye on for a while”, he said. 

“I feel he will bring energy and aggression to our front line. He has really good movement and has the ability to score different types of goals. It’s important we added to our squad in this window. There are a lot of important games coming up so securing Luke on loan is really good business for us.”

David Goulden