Mandroiu set for Lincoln City move, Bradley confirms

LEAVING: Danny Mandroiu of Shamrock Rovers during the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division match between Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians. Photo: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Danny Mandroiu will shortly complete a deal to join Mark Kennedy’s Lincoln City, his Shamrock Rovers manager Stephen Bradley has confirmed.

This is the final transfer window before the attacker’s two-year contract runs out and a low five-figure release clause was a pre-condition of the original deal he brokered when joining from rivals Bohemians.

It will be another month before the 23-year-old returns to action from an ankle injury but the English League One club are satisfied with the player’s condition after he recently passed a medical.

Ironically, Mandroiu would have maintained his relationship with Bradley, only for the Rovers boss to reject their managerial vacancy in early May, which ended up going to fellow Irishman Kennedy.

“Danny will leave soon enough,” confirmed Bradley ahead of Tuesday’s Uefa Champions League first round, first leg visit of Maltese side Hibernians to Tallaght Stadium.

“He did his medical and everything. They’re just discussing the other stuff now. He would have been out for a few weeks for us if he had been staying.

“Danny has been brilliant for us and I don’t want to see him go but he’s up at the end of the year.

“Both parties have tried over the last while to get him to stay. It’s just one of those things; he wants to challenge himself somewhere else and we just thank him and wish him the best.” Rovers have banked millions of euro over recent years from the transfers of Gavin Bazunu, Graham Burke, Kevin Zefi and Liam Scales but are only expected to gross around €30,000 for a player who was part of the Ireland squad 12 months ago.

Bradley said: “We’ve been really good and the club have been good at transfers over the last five years, protecting ourselves with long contracts and understand where we are in the food chain in terms of selling players. That’s not an issue.

“You have to accept that and understand that. we’re fine with that, it’s about trying to build that market for yourself and I think we’ve done okay. Sometimes it’s just unfortunate that sometimes contracts do run down.

“I couldn’t say a bad word about Danny and was been brilliant for us. He came in and you hear all these stories that he’s this or he’s that, but he has been fantastic for us both on and off the pitch. I hope he shows it because he’s top class.” As well as Mandroiu, Bradley will also be without injured pair Jack Byrne and Burke for tomorrow’s first assignment of what should be a hectic European campaign. Reinforcements are being sought.

He said: “We’ve been looking for the past few months because you always have to plan what’s coming.

“This has always been in the background. We’ve been looking quite a bit but it has to be the right one. If it’s not the right one, then we will wait until January. We won’t panic. We’ve got Rory Gaffney, Graham Burke, Aaron Greene and Aidomo Emakhu here.

“We’re okay in attack but if the right one come we will definitely look to add.”