Dundalk close in on key quintet
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Dundalk boss Sean Connor is close to completing the signings of Liam Burns, Chris Turner and Dave Rogers. However, an attempt to bring Garreth O'Connor to the club appears to be dead in the water, while a return to Oriel Park for Steve Williams has also been ruled out. Alan Cawley and Robert Duggan, though, could be on the verge of becoming Lilywhites.
Burns, Turner and Rogers have trained with the squad over the past week and are all close to striking deals. Burns and Turner have both worked under Connor before at Sligo Rovers and Bohemians, but it will be a new experience for Rogers, who has impressed sufficiently in training to earn a contract offer.
On the other hand, talks with Steve Williams, who started his League of Ireland career at Dundalk in 1997, have come to an end with no agreement reached. It was thought that the Welsh goalkeeper would be at least offered a coaching role, however, he now won't be involved with the club this year. Instead, Connor is eyeing up Shamrock Rovers rookie Robert Duggan as cover for Chris Bennion.
While talks with Williams took place at length, Garreth O'Connor seems to have decided against making a move to the border outfit by failing to enter advanced discussions with Connor. That is, however, likely to pave the way for the arrival of Alan Cawley, who has also been courted by Bohs and his hometown club Sligo in recent weeks. Dundalk are believed to be now leading the chase to sign the Bray midfielder as they are in a position to offer the 27-year-old the best financial package and could tie the deal up sooner than Cawley's other suitors.
In more positive news for the club, it has also been rumoured that Dundalk will mark their return to the Premier Division with a televised clash against 2008 double winners and Connor's former club, Bohemians. A fixture list has yet to be released by the FAI, however, it is believed that it has already been drawn up and has paired last year's league champions together in a mouth-watering opening day encounter.
