H&W Welders continue to strengthen after arrival of Derry City midfielder and former Carrick Rangers striker
H&W Welders have confirmed the permanent return of midfielder Liam Mullan from Derry City while Jaydyn Withers has also joined the Championship club.
The double signing comes less than 24 hours after confirmation of Ethan Devine and Conor Mitchell’s arrivals at the Blanchflower Stadium as Paul Kee continues to strengthen his squad ahead of next season.
Mullan came through the youth ranks at Derry City and spent the opening part of last season on loan in the Premiership with Portadown, making 11 top-flight appearances, before joining Welders on a temporary basis in January.
The 21-year-old played 13 times for Kee’s men as they narrowly missed out on an opportunity to seal top-flight promotion, ultimately finishing in third behind champions Bangor and Annagh United, and scored in two of his final three appearances, including a last gasp winner against East Belfast rivals Dundela.
Mullan has now sealed a permanent switch to the Welders and is joined by Jaydyn Withers, who signs from Ballyclare Comrades having spent time on the books of Carrick Rangers.
The 20-year-old has Championship experience after a loan spell at Dundela and stint with Ballyclare – Withers joined Barry Baggley’s side in January but couldn’t help them avoid relegation to the Premier Intermediate League.
Former Linfield striker Devine was confirmed as a new Welders player on Friday after his contract with the Blues expired and admits scoring goals is “all I care about this season”.
The 24-year-old made 44 Premiership appearances for David Healy’s side across the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons, scoring nine times in the process, and netted a crucial goal as Linfield progressed past The New Saints in Champions League qualifying.
He will be playing alongside Michael McLellan – the Championship’s top scorer from last season – and will also fill a void which was left in Kee’s side by Tiarnan O’Connor’s January departure to Larne.
"It has been a rough couple of seasons,” Devine told the club’s media channel. “The first injury I’ve ever really got was at Dungannon, they stitched me up down there and it didn’t really help me towards the end of the season.
"I went back on loan to Ballymena for the last year of my contract. I was doing alright at the start of the season and then a couple of bad things happened – my friend passed and I was in a car crash which had me out for a couple of weeks.
"I didn’t really get back in the team and big Paul gave me a shout and looked after me pretty well.”
Having played nearly 100 top-flight league matches, Devine is determined to hit the ground running at the Welders and has his sights firmly set on scoring goals aplenty.
"I’m only 24 but I’ve played a lot of games in the Irish League,” added Devine. “I’ve a lot of experience behind me so hopefully that can help with the younger boys and myself through the season.
"I just want to score goals and more goals – that’s all I care about this season and hopefully that will win us the league.
"I’m probably not even at my prime yet so hopefully I can get a good season behind me, score a lot of goals, get the confidence back up and we will take it from there.”