Winger Danny Kearns joins Linfield after cutting ties with Limerick

Former Ireland under-21 winger Daniel Kearns has joined forces with Linfield on a two-year deal up in Windsor Park after cutting short his time with crisis club Limerick.

26-year-old Kearns returns to his home city after a spell away from the Northern Irish football in the League of Ireland with Sligo Rovers and Limerick in the Premier Division.

Kearns has previous experience in the cauldron of Northern Irish league football, having lined out with NIFL side Glenavon back in 2015.

Speaking upon the completion of the deal with Linfield’s official media team, Blues boss and former Northern Ireland international David Healy spoke of his delight after the club from East Belfast secured Kearns’ signature.

“I’m delighted to be able to advise our supporters that Daniel Kearns has signed a 2-year contract with the club,” Healy told the club's official website.

“He’s come through his medical, so it’s just the international clearance formalities that have to be completed, to conclude the deal.

“Daniel has good pedigree and he’s an experienced forward player, having played for a number of full-time clubs.

“We are well aware of his ability and he will give us really good options up front, so I’m really excited about getting started to work with him.”

Healy added that he hopes Kearns’ signing will help Linfield’s title hopes this term after they missed out on Europa League football last season.

“He’s bright and clever and we want to get him scoring goals to get us challenging again.

“He’s really looking forward to getting started with us and he really impressed us at training on Thursday and while playing as a trialist in Saturday’s game at Dundela.

“I know our supporters will welcome the news of this quality signing. It’s a signing we are aiming to add to in the coming weeks.

“We are continuing to look for the right players to bring in who will strengthen our squad in advance of the start of the new season.”