DROGHEDA UNITED have signed defender George Cooper on a season-long loan from Mansfield Town.
Cooper, 22, has made just two league appearances for the Stags but also played 52 times in National League North during two loan spells for Kettering Town.
He had joined Kiddersminster Harriers on loan in September but that was cut short by a shoulder injury.
Drogheda boss Kevin Doherty said: “George is an excellent player and meets the profile of what we look for in our defenders.
“He is a big, mobile, strong and athletic defender, and from his first session with us we can see he is vocal and commanding in defence.
“I’ve watched George for a long time and he has really impressed me every time I have seen him.
“He really wanted to join and he has a hunger to play and that’s what we were looking for. I’m delighted to get him in.”
Elsewhere, Bohemians boss Alan Reynolds has hailed the quality of loan signing Kian Best.
Best, 19, has joined Bohs until the summer, when his Preston North End contract ends.
The left-back made 12 Championship appearances and won five England under-19 caps, scoring on his debut against Romania, last season.
He featured in their opening game of this campaign too but, after Ryan Lowe stepped down after that game, his only games under his successor Paul Heckingbottom came in the Carabao Cup.
But Reynolds believes he will prove a valuable addition. He said: “I am delighted to get Kian on board.
“He comes with a really good pedigree having played a significant number of games at a very high level in the English Championship with Preston.
“He is exactly the kind of quality that will strengthen our squad. He is a really exciting talent, he’s young and is clearly hungry to push on.
“He respects the league, is delighted to join the club and has made a brave decision to move away from home to push himself forward.
“Left-back is a position we wanted to strengthen. We have taken our time to find the right fit, as we are with other positions.
“But we want to get the right players for the right positions and I feel we have done that with Kian, who is a really stylish left-back that we are really looking forward to working with.”
