Archie Davies: ‘It was a no-brainer for me to come to Dundalk’

The 24-year-old defender Archie Davies became Dundalk’s fifth signing of the new season when he penned a multi-year contract with the County Louth side this week.

Davies joins Dundalk from National League club Aldershot Town with whom he made 28 appearances in the 2022-23 season.

“Things have moved really quickly over the past few days,” Davies told dundalkfc.com after completing his move to Oriel Park on Thursday.

“Yesterday, I was just chilling at home and late last night I was on my way to the airport! It’s a good thing to get it done so quickly and I’m just looking forward to getting started properly now.

He signed his first professional contract at Brighton and Hove Albion as a 17-year-old and made his first team debut in a 3-1 home defeat against Aston Villa in an EFL Cup game in September 2019.

His contract at Brighton was not renewed when it expired in 2020 and he moved to League Two side Crawley Town, making 67 appearances for them before signing for Aldershot Town in June 2022.

Davies was straight into action for the Lilywhites this week, coming on as a second half substitute in a 1-0 win over Cork City in a friendly played at Abbottstown on Friday January 27^th.

“I’ve got a few Irish friends from my time at Brighton and Hove Albion and from speaking to them over the past week or so, they’ve been telling me about Dundalk and it’s all been good.

“The club is obviously back in Europe this summer and that’s something I’m really excited about. When you take that into account, it was a no-brainer for me to come to Dundalk. It’ll be a first for me, but it’s another challenge I’m really looking forward to.”

Speaking about his arrival at Oriel Park, Head Coach Stephen O’ Donnell said “Archie is a full back that is very comfortable on the ball. He gets into good forward areas and delivers good quality. He is a very good footballer with a great age profile and we’re delighted to have him on board.

“He’s really looking forward to the challenge ahead. It’s something new for him and he’s another player that we can develop and is hungry to get better. He’s been at a Premier League club and has also been in the lower leagues in England and, for a 24-year-old, he’s got really good experience.”

Davies joins the other new arrivals at Oriel Park, Louie Annesley, Hayden Muller, Connor Malley and Cameron Elliott as they prepare for the Premier Division opening game at home to UCD on Friday February 17^th.