Sligo Rovers are delighted to confirm that the club have reached a deal with NIFL side Cliftonville for the transfer of full back Sean Stewart to the Showgrounds on an 18 month deal.
The left-sided Northern Ireland underage international arrives at the Showgrounds for an undisclosed fee, subject to international clearance and is manager John Russell’s fifth signing of the summer transfer window.
The 22-year-old joins up at Rovers following spells with Norwich City and Belfast side Cliftonville who he won an Irish Cup with in 2024.
A former St Oliver Plunkett youth, Stewart played with the Belfast boys’ side until under 16 level when he moved across to Norwich for the next five years. A successful loan spell with hometown club Cliftonville resulted in the full back signing for the Reds on a full-time basis in summer 2024.
He took part in Rovers’ recent friendly with Mansfield Town and has represented Northern Ireland at various levels all the way to the 21s.
“The international experience has hugely helped my development as you are constantly playing against the best young players from the countries you go up against”, he tells sligorovers.com.
“So I’m coming to Rovers with plenty of experience of playing at a high level and I’m looking forward to using that experience to further improve the squad.”
Stewart has already experienced match night having been in attendance for Rovers’ impressive win over in-form Derry City on Saturday at the Showgrounds. He is keen to get going in what he describes as an “attractive” league to play his football.
“John had been chasing me for a while and once I knew the clubs were happy to come to a deal and I spoke to him, I wanted to come here straight away”, he continues.
“He is hugely ambitious for the club’s future and I want to be part of that.
“I’ve always had a big interest in the league here and followed the teams and results. It has grown enormously over the last few years and is further becoming such an attractive league to play in for young players. I couldn’t turn down the chance to play here.
“It has developed so many players recently and Sligo is one of those clubs that realises the importance of giving younger players an opportunity. You only have to look at the average age of the current squad. The manager puts trust in his players, a young squad and it’s paid off the last few weeks when you look at the results we’re starting to pick up.”
“I was really impressed with the team against Derry and it was great to get the runout against Mansfield. The crowd really got behind the boys, the atmosphere around the club is great.
“I will have to work so hard to earn a place in the team and that’s been obvious to me even before I arrived. We play with aggression and always try to be on the front foot and that’s how I want the teams I play in to operate. I cannot wait to get started here.”
Welcoming his latest addition, Russell tells sligorovers.com: “Sean is a hugely promising talent who already has a lot of experience in senior football and has represented Northern Ireland at underage level.
“I have signed him as we feel his physical profile and attributes certainly match what we already have here at Rovers.
“He is strong defensively and is a player who really likes to get involved in attacking phases of play, which suits our style. I have had plenty of conversations with Sean before I signed him and he’s highly
motivated to come here. He knows what we want from him and I feel he matches the type of player we need.
“We feel he has a really high ceiling and we have done very well to get him here.”
David Goulden