New contract and a new club for Dara Costelloe

It sure was a busy day for Dara Costelloe (22, CF) as he firmed up his future with Championship side Burnley and is about to make new friends at League One’s Northampton Town who he joins until the end of the season on loan.

Costelloe from Limerick has flown relatively under the radar and unusually had no underage caps for the Boys in Green until 2023 when he picked up a solitary one for the U21s. But there is no denying his class, signing for Burnley in 2021 and making his debut for Galway United as a 15-year-old three years previously.

The striker has made four first-team appearance for the Clarets but has taken up loan deals with four different clubs (Bradford, St. Johnstone, Dundee and most recently Accrington Stanley). He had a particular prolific spell in October in League Two with Accrington Stanley, scoring four goals in three games before injury put paid to him significantly adding to the tally. Before setting out to his newest loan club Northampton Town Costelloe signed a new deal at Turf Moor until the summer of 2026.

Northampton Town sit 20th in League One and are managed by Kevin Nolan, formerly of Bolton Wanderers and eligible to play for the Boys in Green but never took up on the offer. And the wily old campaigner had this to say about his new recruit from Burnley:

He can be a threat, a spark, he can create things and he is very much an attacking threat. He is another player who we have brought here despite strong interest from other clubs as his performances this season have attracted attention.