I’d love to bring Richie Towell back to League of Ireland, says Stephen Bradley

Then Dundalk player Richie Towell may be returning to the League of Ireland. Picture: INPHO/Ciaran Culligan

Shamrock Rovers boss Stephen Bradley would love to bring Richie Towell back to Ireland if the Dubliner was to become available.

The reigning SSE Airtricity League champions have been linked with the 29-year old in recent weeks. So have Dundalk with whom the player enjoyed a superb three-year spell that delivered silverware and personal honours.

Towell is currently on the books at Salford City, the League Two club part-owned by the famed 'Class of '92', but his contract is up this summer and Bradley is a confirmed admirer of a player who left Louth for Brighton & Hove Albion and, eventually, a two-year loan spell at Rotherham United.

He played over 70 times for the Millers, half of those appearances coming in the Championship and the rest in League One after the club was relegated, and he has returned to Salford's first team in recent weeks after a spell out injured.

"I like him but I'm sure that he would have options in England and Ireland,” said Bradley. “I have always liked him, and he's the right type for us, but that's something that's right down the line. He is still under contract there and he won't be short of offers. He's a player I like and there is no denying that.”

Bradley has already been busy in the off-season, saying his farewells to the influential pairing of Jack Byrne and Aaron McEneff with the former moving to APOEL in Cyprus and the latter just this week signing for Heart of Midlothian in the Scottish second tier.

Both are considerable talents to lose but the Hoops have drafted in Danny Mandroiu from Bohemians, Sean Gannon and Sean Hoare have joined from Dundalk and Chris McCann is back in Dublin after a long stint playing abroad, mostly in England.

Another bit of business that needs attending is Graham Burke's future. Sold to Preston North End in 2018, Burke has been back in Tallaght on loan this last two seasons and his contract with his English parent club runs out this summer.

Talks aimed at extending his second stay at Rovers are already underway.

“They started a while back, talking about summer time and what the plan will be going forward,,” Bradley confirmed, “and I imagine that will be ongoing for the next few weeks until we come to an agreement on both sides, but it's ongoing.”

Burke, like Byrne, revived his career with Rovers on his return from the UK and Bradley believes the comings and goings in recent months has left the door open for the likes of Mandroiu and Dylan Watts to take their games to another level.

"This is a chance for all the players. When we got Aaron, he was a floaty ten and now he is on the verge of being an Ireland international, the best box-to-box midfielder in the country. We got Jack when he was a bit lost, now he is an Ireland international.

“So this is a chance for others to step up and follow that.”