New contract for ex Academy star

  • by Staff Writer
  • Thursday, 13th December 2018

Former Academy prospect Kieran Sadlier is back in English football having landed a contract with League One outfit Doncaster Rovers.

The 24-year-old midfielder has signed an 18-month contract with Rovers that ties him to the Keepmoat Stadium until the summer of 2019, having impressed most recently for Sligo Rovers and Cork City in the Legue of Ireland.

And Donny boss Grant McCann - another former Hammer - admitted that he was delighted to secure Sadlier on a permanent deal in the face of competition from other League One clubs plus one or two from the Championship.

"Jack Collison put him onto us when he was at West Ham and Dave Robertson was the manager at Peterborough," said McCann. "At the time you could see his quality but he probably wasn’t ready.

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"He didn't get the chance or time to develop [at Peterborough] and he was shipped out the door very quickly. He’s gone and done it the hard way and forged a very good two-and-a-half years for himself. We’ve done well to get him.

"Not only were a few clubs in League One interested but one or two in the Championship were chasing him as well. He’ll probably see bigger clubs than Doncaster chasing him [in future]. That’s how highly we rate him.

Hopefully we can help him out with that but hopefully he helps us first by delivering the goods, which we think he will. He’s got a tremendous attitude, a real down to earth boy and he's exactly what we need in the changing room. He'll add to the group."

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Sadlier left West Ham in 2015 having spent ten years at the club. Speaking at the time, he blamed then manager Sam Allardyce for his departure.

"I loved my time at West Ham and made a lot of friends that I still keep in touch with now," he said in a 2017 interview. "I learned a lot and it was a good Academy for me to be at.

"The last three years were frustrating as no one was ever going to break into the first team with the manager that was there. Not getting a chance at West Ham made me want to go and prove that I’m good enough.

"It was the same with Sean Maguire [now at Preston]; he was my room-mate and we’re still good friends now. He’s proven his worth and hopefully I’m able to dog the same."

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