Coleraine seal deal for Davy McDaid to return to The Showgrounds as Alexander Gawne moves in the opposite direction to Ballymena United

The striker has put pen-to-paper on a three-year deal and joins Coleraine for a second time in his career after spending six months on the Ballycastle Road before moving to Cliftonville in 2014.

The deal sees striker Alexander Gawne move in the opposite direction plus an undisclosed fee being paid to Ballymena United.

McDaid joined the Sky Blues last summer from Larne and scored 11 goals in 42 appearances, with the former Derry City man also playing for Waterford, Sligo Rovers, Finn Harps and York City throughout his career.

Coleraine boss Oran Kearney was full of praise for McDaid’s football brain and believes his new striker will form a great partnership with Matthew Shevlin in attack.

“We are absolutely delighted to welcome Davy back to Coleraine,” he said.

“We have mentioned before that we are going to have to be quite bespoke in terms of targets and Davy fits that bill.

“Matthew had a cracking season for us and Davy will be able to provide that little bit of guile and I’m sure they will have a great partnership in attack.

“I still feel that Davy still has plenty left in the tank and his brain is his biggest asset.

“I have no doubt that he will continue to get better and better and we are looking forward to working with him once again.”

Gawne will be a familiar face to new Ballymena United boss Jim Ervin after playing with each other at Carrick Rangers.

The attacker would spend three-and-a-half seasons on loan at Carrick but has now left The Showgrounds on a permanent basis.

Meanwhile, Ballymena have placed striker David Parkhouse on the transfer list and are open to enquiries from interested clubs.