Stephen Folan's exit from Dundalk is now imminent following Andy Boyle’s arrival yesterday.
Boyle will fight with skipper Brian Gartland, Sean Hoare and Dan Cleary for a centre-back role.
And that pushes Folan - a peripheral figure since arriving at the start of last season - further down the pecking order.
As Mirror Sport revealed last month, Folan held the key to Boyle’s return as he pondered an offer from big-spending Irish League side Larne.
And Dundalk boss Vinny Perth confirmed their interest yesterday, but said Folan had a number of alternative offers with Derry City known admirers, along with Sligo Rovers.
“We've had good interest in Stephen and it's probably best for him to go and play - he feels he needs to play,” said Perth.
“(Larne) have had contact, absolutely. A couple of clubs are interested so he's not going to be stuck if that's what he wants to do."
But Perth is chuffed to land Irish international Boyle on a lengthy deal ad said: “Andy understands our culture here.
“He's very friendly with the players, knows how we do things, he understood the pay structure and fits into that.
“All of those boxes were ticked with Andy. Once we felt he was definitely coming home and he turned down those couple of offers in the UK, it was a no-brainer for us.”
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