If Dundalk's magnificent 2016 has catapulted Stephen Kenny into the limelight, then it has put many of their players into the shop window. Chief among these is Daryl Horgan, who broke into the senior Irish set-up for the Austria game as a result of his dazzling performances both domestically, and more pertinently, in Europe.
Horgan has now officially left the club, with confirmation in the past few minutes that he has joined Preston North End in the Championship. He is joined at Deepdale by Andy Boyle, whom he played with at Oriel Park and who also joined Martin O'Neill's international squad last month.
The pair are not eligible to play for Preston until January 1st of next year, but the landing of Horgan can be considered a coup for Simon Grayson's side: the Irish winger had been tracked by a number of clubs in the division, including Rafa Benitez' Newcastle United.
There's a decent Irish representation at the club already: Aiden McGeady is there, on loan from Everton. Also at the club are Greg Cunningham - who impressed at the weekend - and Alan Browne and Eoin Doyle, the latter gaining notoriety last weekend for scrapping with teammate Jermaine Beckford near the end of a game.
Annoyingly for Dundalk, they haven't received a transfer fee for their star man.
More to follow
