Kowalski Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 Dons swoop to sign defender McArdle By Michael Gannon Published: 20/05/2010 Northern Irish defender Rory McArdle will travel north today to sign a pre-contract agreement with Aberdeen. The 23-year-old central defender will join on a free transfer on a two-year contract from Rochdale, despite the Lancashire club winning promotion to English League 1. The Dons saw off competition from three SPL rivals to land the 6ft 1in defender and will not have to pay the English club compensation as he turned 23 before the end of the season and the defender spent his formative years at Sheffield Wednesday before moving to Spotland in January 2008 after a loan spell. McArdle’s contract at Rochdale does not expire until June 30 but he is free to sign a pre-contract agreement with the Dons. He will be at Pittodrie today to finalise the deal before joining up with the Northern Ireland squad which departs on Saturday for next week’s friendly encounters in the United States and Chile. Nigel Worthington’s side faces Turkey in Connecticut on Wednesday then Chile in Chillan next Sunday. Ross County goalkeeper Michael McGovern is also in the squad and has played with McArdle for the Northern Ireland under-21s. He is convinced McArdle has what it takes to shine in the SPL. He said: “I have no doubt Rory can cope with playing at that level. He is a very good player and he has tons of experience. “He may just be 23 but it seems like he has been around for ages. “When we played together with the under-21s he was already playing every week in the Rochdale first team. “Rory is a good talker and organiser and he is a very determined player. “I was surprised to see some of the talk about him being a replacement for Charlie Mulgrew because, from my experience, he is an out-and-out centre half. “He may have added that to his game in the last couple of years, though, because he is a decent player. I have no doubt he will do well at Aberdeen. “It will be good to see him next week with the rest of the squad. If he asks me about the SPL I will be happy to fill him in. I am sure he will look at the move to Aberdeen as a good chance to boost his international chances as well. Rochdale’s loss will be the Dons’ gain.” The club was keen to keep hold of the defender, especially as centre back Craig Dawson is expected to move to Middlesbrough, and a new contract offer was made. The recently promoted League 1 club could not match the money on offer from the Dons, however, and McArdle is keen to become Aberdeen manager Mark McGhee’s first signing of the summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoney Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 Excellent news! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harcus Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 Well, it's news. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoney Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 look im trying this optimism thing, leave me alone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotfree Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 http://www.afc.co.uk/articles/20100520/rory-mcardle_2212158_2056035 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsr Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 Welcome to the fold, let's hope he's a good one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manc_don Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 Welcome! Lets hope he's a part of what has been missing from our team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentorred Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 Worse signing ever, makes David Winnie look good * I have never heard of him before. Welcome and good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsr Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 Must be reasonably decent, Rochdale manager says they offered him a contract and he turned it down due to pure greed. Superb! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McMaster Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 At long last!!!!! A club we can outbid :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harcus Posted May 27, 2010 Share Posted May 27, 2010 I see Rory made his debut for Northern Ireland last night. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/irish/8707379.stm Pretty much a B side though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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