UCD add two new faces to squad as preparations ramp up for 2023
- Andrew Dempsey
- Sun, Jan 29 2023
UCD boss Andy Myler has confirmed the arrival of duo Adam Wells and Brendan Barr to his squad.
Myler has lost a host of key men during the off-season, with quartet Colm Whelan, Tommy Lonergan, Sean Brennan and Evan Caffrey all departing.
But the Students have captured the services of Wells and Barr ahead of the 2023 campaign.
Full-back Wells, 19, joins the Belfield side from Shamrock Rovers, having spent last season on loan at Wexford. He made 24 appearances for the Ferrycarrig Park outfit, scoring once.
And midfielder Barr, 21, joins UCD having previously come through the ranks of Derry City.
He made eight senior appearances for the Candystripes, and was most recently on loan at Dungannon Swifts in the Irish League.
Myler told extratime.com: “We’ve signed Adam Wells from Shamrock Rovers and Brendan Barr from Derry City.
“We’ll have a couple of Under-19s joining and some lads returning from the Leinster Senior League set-up who were there last year.
“There will be lots of familiar faces there again.”
While the Students lost key players such as Whelan and Lonergan, their exits were not unexpected.
Myler added: “In real terms, we planned to lose Colm (Whelan) last season during the summer. But because of the injury, that didn’t happen until this pre-season. That was always going to happen.
“With Tommy (Lonergan), he took an opportunity to go into full-time football. With that being so widely available, that’s a real attraction for lads.
“The more full-time football clubs there are, the better it is for Irish football. It’s not something that we are going to argue about. We’ll keep cracking on with what we do.
“We may see shorter transitions for players through the club over time. But that’s something we’ll have to deal with.”
