Former Watford midfielder Sean Murray signs long-term deal with Dundalk

Former Ireland under-21 midfielder Sean Murray has signed a long-term contract with Dundalk after completing a medical with the defending SSE Airtricity League champions on Tuesday.

The ex-Watford and Colchester United midfielder was officially unveiled to the Oriel Park crowd right before the Lilywhites’ final pre-season friendly on Tuesday night against Longford Town.

25-year-old Murray links up with Dundalk following his release from Danish Superliga outfit Vejle Boldklub, where he made 11 appearances after signing a three-year contract only last summer.

However, he struggled to settle in Denmark and had been on trial with Vinnie Perth’s side for the past number of weeks.

Murray impressed against Drogheda United in the Jim Malone Cup match at the end of January, and is believed to have signed a two-year deal at Oriel Park.

“I have wanted this to happen for the past few weeks,” Murray told the club’s website.

“Since I came in to train it has been amazing and I have loved it. To finally get it sorted it is a great feeling for me. I have got to know about the club and the league from being here.

“I had been aware of the club and the league since before I was here but seeing the club and hearing from the players first hand, I have a better knowledge now.

“There has been a great couple of years here with the trophies and in Europe too. I want to add to that and win more for the club.

“European football was a big factor. It was huge for me and I wanted to do that. I have always wanted to play in Europe. I have never done that before in my career and it will be a great experience for me.

“We could have a good chance of making it far in European competition. We go into the Champions League qualifiers so I am looking forward to that.

“We have a lot of league matches to play before then and I just can’t wait to get started.

“I want to win everything. To win the league is the main objective. It is everything and everyone in the squad wants to retain the league and the cup.

“We want to improve on last year and do even better than we did. There’s always ways to improve and hopefully we can have an even better year than last year.”

Murray, who was born and raised in England, qualifies to represent the Republic of Ireland through his grandparents and has been capped nine times at under-21 level for the Boys in Green.

He started his career with boyhood club Watford, where he scored 11 times in his 75 appearances in the English Championship before going out on loan to both Wigan Athletic and Swindon Town.

In January 2017, he finally left Vicarage Road and made a permanent transfer to Colchester United, where he played 53 league matches before moving to the Danish top-flight with Vejle BK in 2018.