Irish Premiership: Bannsiders snap up Scottish striker
Coleraine have announced the signing of Scottish striker Declan McManus from Welsh side The New Saints for an undisclosed fee.
Speaking about his fourth January recruit, Coleraine Head coach Dean Shiels said: “He’s a player I know well and we played together at Dunfermline.
“I know his qualities and what he can offer. First of all, he’s a good person, he’s a good lad off the pitch, has a great attitude and he will fit in well with the group. Secondly, he’s a good player and his goalscoring record in the last few years have been unbelievable.
“If we are going to be successful moving forward, we need a big squad and competition for places. Declan is a pure goalscorer and they are worth their weight in gold.”
The 30-year-old, started his career at Aberdeen and then had loan spells at Alloa Athletic and Greenock Morton (twice), where he won the Scottish League One title with the latter in 2014-15.
A move south of the border would then materialise at Fleetwood Town in 2015, which incorporated stints on loan at Greenock Morton once again and Raith Rovers.
McManus has also been on the books at Dunfermline Athletic twice, which was sandwiched by a successful permanent stint at Ross County, winning the Scottish Championship and Scottish Challenge Cup, before signing on loan at Falkirk.
In June 2021, McManus joined TNS and guided the club to three successive Welsh Premier titles, as well as two victories in the Welsh Cup and one Welsh League Cup triumph.
During his time at the Saints, McManus was the top goalscorer in the Welsh Premier for two seasons, netting 24 goals in 2021/22 and 29 times in 2022/23.
McManus and his TNS team-mates created history this season by becoming the first side playing in the Welsh league system to qualify for the group or league stage of any European competition after reaching the league phase of the UEFA Conference League.
During the group stage phase, McManus played in all six games and scored in a 2-0 success against Astana.
On an international level, McManus has represented Scotland up to, and including, U-21s, where he played two games, against France and Iceland.
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