Derry City have fought off competition from a number of League of Ireland clubs to agree a two year contract with Cork native Adam O'Reilly after he was given permission to leave Preston.
O'Reilly was a big hit with St Patrick's Athletic last year after a loan spell with the Inchicore side and the Saints were very hopeful that the 21-year-old would sign on a permanent basis if he decided that his future lay in Ireland.
However, Derry made a strong pitch for O'Reilly's services and it has proved sufficient to get the deal done with the player linking up with the Candystripes on a pre-season training camp in Spain.
O'Reilly made his league debut for Preston aged 17 but never quite pushed on from that and his spell with St Pat's was a sixth loan during his time with the club. There was a brief stint with Waterford included in that number.
He will strengthen Ruaidhri Higgins' midfield options as they look to mount a title challenge this term.
