Dara O’Shea became Ipswich Town’s 11th summer signing on Sunday when joining in a £12m deal from Burnley. Here’s what the Irish defender had to say about the move. There are plenty of reasons to believe Dara O’Shea can hit the ground running with Ipswich Town.
The 25-year-old, who has signed a five-year deal at Portman Road, smiles when asked who he knows in the current set-up. "Quite a few!” replies the 26-cap Republic of Ireland international. “I know (goalkeeper coach) Rene (Gilmartin) from him working with the Ireland 21s and more recently with the senior set-up.
“I know Conor Townsend from West Brom. Our family are quite close, so it will be nice to see him again. I played with Aro (Muric) quite a lot at Burnley, while there’s obviously Sammie Szmodics and Jack Taylor too from the Ireland set-up.
So it’s nice to have a few familiar faces to help me settle in.” Dara O'Shea is reunited with former Burnley team-mate Aro Muric at Portman Road. (Image: PA) He’s no stranger to the level either.
O’Shea started 25 games in the Premier League for West Brom in 2020/21 and 32 times in the top-tier for Burnley last season. At the latter, he was recruited by Vincent Kompany to help the Clarets with their bold build-from-the-back approach. It’s a style of play that has driven Ipswich to back-to-back promotions too and one manager Kieran McKenna wants to stick with this season.
“The style of football was a big part of why I came here because I really enjoy .