League Two’s gain could be Stephen Kenny’s loss.
Richie Towell is almost universally viewed as the best talent currently plying his trade in Ireland’s top flight and his impact has not gone unnoticed in England as Bristol Rovers manager Darrell Clarke has revealed that he is considering a move for the high-flying midfielder.
Towell, 24, has scored 26 goals this season and was one of the key figures in Dundalk’s defence of their league title this season.
The Dublin-born player trained with both Blackpool and Cardiff last year but failed to secure himself a move to the Championship.
Nailing down a spot with League Two’s Bristol Rovers, though, could be the first step on Towell’s journey towards a full Republic of Ireland call-up, having already represented his country at underage level.
GOAL! @DundalkFC‘s Richie Towell with a great strike to open the scoring at Oriel Park. https://t.co/Hm3zY5Dy7a
— Setanta Sports (@SetantaSports) May 4, 2015
Could Towell’s last game for the Lilywhites be the upcoming FAI Cup final with Cork City on 8 November? Probably not but Rovers manager Darrell Clarke has admitted that he is set to send his chief scout to Oriel Park sooner rather than later in order to gain a better gauge of Towell’s ability.
“Richie has a good pedigree and is the sort of player who might fit the mould we are looking for,” Clarke told the Bristol Post.
“We have heard some good things about him, but we want to have a look for ourselves and that is probably the next step in the process.
“Steve (Yates) has been out and about looking at several potential targets since taking up his new role recently and I’d anticipate that he will probably going over to Ireland to cast an eye over Richie at some point in the future.
“That is where we are at with it and anybody who says we are any further ahead in the process or talking about deals or wages at this moment in time would be jumping the gun.”
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