Irish League manager disappointed to lose star striker but feels he's 'ready to take the Premiership by storm'
H&W Welders manager Paul Kee believes Brian Healy is “ready to take the Premiership by storm” after completing a January transfer to Cliftonville.
Kee brought Healy to the Welders from Newry City last summer but his stint at the Blanchflower Stadium has ultimately lasted only a matter of months, such was his goalscoring prowess.
The 21-year-old netted 22 goals in 23 Championship appearances and also struck a brace in the Welders’ BetMcLean Cup defeat to Linfield.
Healy signed a two-year professional contract in September and Kee was determined to retain his services as the Welders look to achieve their Premiership promotion dream, but he has now made the move to Solitude.
His Welders exit comes 12 months after Tiarnan O’Connor departed for Larne and Kee feels there are similarities between the two marksmen.
"Brian is really creative,” he said. “I would have preferred him to stay until the end of the season because I think he has work to do on his game, but in terms of artistry and creativity, he has all the attributes to be a top player.
"He scored many types of goals this season...in terms of his finishing and movement, he's very similar to Tiarnan and we all know the impact he has made at Larne.
"Talent is talent and those types of players need freedom to express - we would like to think that Brian benefitted from his time here. He only had about seven months with us but his game has got better and he is ready to take the Premiership by storm."
Kee was once again faced with the difficult task of balancing the best interests of both club and player, and while disappointed to lose his star striker at such a crucial period of the season, he wouldn’t stand in Healy’s way.
"Brian is from that neck of the woods and has attended cup finals in the past with a red shirt on,” he added. “His friends are all Cliftonville fans.
"When the Cliftonville hierarchy sit down and talk to you about the potential and culture, it's very difficult to turn down.
"Cliftonville pursued it quite vigorously and made a serious bid. When you make a serious bid, you have to look at it and you take it to the player. We weighed it up and did what was right.
"I know Brian had to think long and hard because he has enjoyed his time with us. He was seen as one of the main men and he enjoyed that platform.
"He's going into a very competitive and successful Cliftonville team who I know Jim (Magilton) will be looking to kick on for the rest of this season. There's a lot of silverware to fight for and Brian could be an important part of his jigsaw.”
Kee has full faith in the strikers at his disposal as they prepare for life without Healy, but admits it’s a challenge trying to replace him.
"It's not ideal for us...we have options to replace him but we went after a couple of players and clubs are asking for silly fees,” he said. “We have very good strikers in Ethan Devine and Michael McLellan so we're still in a good spot, but Healy was a different sort.
"He's a dashing striker with good mobility and movement. There's not many like him about...the ones who are remain under contract and many are happy at their clubs."