Leroy Millar 'buzzing' for new Crystal Palace signing Craig Farquhar after first seeing his potential at Ballymena United

The 20-year-old joined the Selhurst Park club on Tuesday – confirmed just hours before Larne won a fourth consecutive Co Antrim Shield by beating Glentoran at Seaview – and caps off what has been a remarkable rise for Farquhar, who only made his senior Sky Blues debut in February before joining the Inver Reds last summer.

After making 21 Premiership appearances for Tiernan Lynch’s side, Farquhar is now ready to embark on the next step of his footballing journey, initially linking up with the Eagles’ U21 team, who play in Premier League 2.

Millar spent over a decade at Ballymena before making the move to Larne in the summer of 2022, playing a key role as they lifted a maiden Gibson Cup crown with the 28-year-old named Player of the Season.

Having a familiar face at the club helped Farquhar settle into full-time football with the pair travelling together on a daily basis and Millar is confident that the defender can thrive in his new surroundings.

"He came up and trained with us when he was 16 or 17 and he played in a training game with us which I thought he did well in,” he said. “We were always made aware at Ballymena how good he was and that he was going to go on and achieve good things.

"He showed glimpses at Ballymena for three or four months and then he made the move to full-time football which has helped him kick on even further. I hope he makes the most of it and does something for himself.

"I'm buzzing for him. Ever since he came in everybody could see the ability that Craig had and I car shared with him coming up in the mornings.

"He had a great attitude and was in early doing his bits and pieces. I hope everything works out for him."

Larne boss Lynch is also confident that Farquhar has a “bright future” in the professional game.

"He's a talented kid and you probably don't realise how good he is until you work with him,” he said. “I think he's definitely somebody that has a bright future.”