Coleraine send talented trio out on loan to Championship clubs as Ruaidhri Higgins wants all three to gain vital experience

The trio of Aidan Tejada, Senan Devine and Alfie Gaston have all agreed temporary switches to Institute, H&W Welders and Limavady United respectively.

Announcing the move, Coleraine say that they have a recall option in January for all three players.

Tejada, who can play in central midfield or at right-back, has made five appearances for the first-team at The Showgrounds and has starred across many different youth levels for Northern Ireland.

Coleraine boss Ruaidhri Higgins believes ‘Stute boss Peter Hutton will help aid the teenager’s development.

He said: "I know the Institute manager Peter Hutton really well and it's part of the reason I like to send players we have really high hopes for to clubs where I know the manager and the conditions they are going to go into.

"I think Peter's a really good man first and foremost, and he will lead Aidan in the right direction.

"He's got a bright future but he needs to play to become battle-hardened, and to take the next step, you need to play as much men's football as possible.

"Hopefully, he will get that at Institute. There's no guarantees either as he'll have to work extremely hard but hopefully he gets that at Institute and then returns in a much better place.

"As a group of staff, we feel that's the right way to go. The expectation at this club has now changed so it's more beneficial to bring him into our squad when he's more experienced."

Gaston, who is the nephew of former Coleraine striker Rory Hamill, has made 17 appearances for the club’s senior team.

Like Tejada, the talented midfielder has featured for Northern Ireland at youth level and played a pivotal role as the Bannsiders won the U20s title in 2024.

"Moving to Limavady is much more beneficial for Alfie than say five games for us and a lot of games for the U20s,” Higgins said of the move.

"Getting into physical encounters on the pitch is a big part of it and it honestly helps.

"Alfie is a talented boy...but he's had a long, long period out since last November. He's missed an awful lot of football.

"I know Paul Owens, as will the Coleraine fans, and he'll be good for Alfie. It's about getting out, getting experience in different types of matches, coming up against 35-year-old grown men who have been around the block - that's where you learn the dark arts.

"Alfie is another one that we have high hopes for and we feel he can really push on and become part of our squad."

Devine has made the most senior appearances of the trio on 27.

The Coleraine native has caps for Northern Ireland U19s and was part of the recent Centenary Shield squad, as well as captaining the Bannsiders in their North-West Cup final success last season.

"Senan is keen to go and play,” Higgins continued.

"A move to the Welders will suit his style in terms of how he plays.

"I've known Paul Kee since I was seven-years-old, I know his philosophy of the game and he's really, really good at developing young players.

"How Senan plays will be really beneficial with how Paul and we work.

"Whoever goes out on loan will remain part of our programme...but as I've said previously, learning the dark arts and competing against real physical players will have its benefits."