Eoghan O'Connell had been expected to join Kilmarnock on loan from Celtic this month.
Instead, Walsall today announced that they have signed the Corkman for the remainder of the season.
After playing several games at the start of the season for Celtic, the 21-year-old was unable to break up the partnership of Jozo Šimunović and Erik Sviatchenko in central defence for Brendan Rodgers' side. Kolo Toure has usually been the backup option on the bench.
Rodgers said in November that O'Connell would likely head out on loan during January and so it has transpired.
📝 | BREAKING: @celticfc defender Eoghan O'Connell joins on loan
➡️ https://t.co/WFYALOD5Yl pic.twitter.com/67cMPdIw7w— Walsall FC Official (@WFCOfficial) January 12, 2017
The Walsall stint will be the third loan spell of O'Connell's career. He was previously at Oldham and Cork City.
Manager of the League One side Jon Whitney said Walsall had to fight off plenty of competition for his signature.
Eoghan is a target we’ve been tracking for a few weeks now and we’ve been trying to get the deal done.
He’s highly sought after and we’ve had to fight off some competition from clubs in England and the Scottish Premier League.
He wants to test himself south of the border so we’re delighted to get this one over the line.
O'Connell is not the first Irish U21 international to spend time at Walsall this season. Meathman Kevin Toner played 20 games for Walsall this season while on loan at the Bescot Stadium stadium from Aston Villa.
You can watch O'Connell being interviewed for the Walsall YouTube channel below.
