Glenavon manager Michael O’Connor feels Northern Ireland U21 striker Conor Falls will be a “real handful for opposition defences” after joining the Lurgan Blues on loan from Cliftonville.

After coming through the youth ranks at Glentoran, Falls earned a move to Huddersfield Town in 2020 and made his League One debut last term under countryman Michael Duff.

Falls’ time in England was impacted by injuries and he returned to the Irish League with Cliftonville last summer.

The 22-year-old has registered 14 Premiership appearances for Jim Magilton’s side this season, featuring mainly as a substitute at Solitude, and will now continue to build up senior experience with Glenavon.

placeholder image — Conor Falls celebrates scoring for Cliftonville in the Irish Cup. (Photo by Stephen Hamilton/Inpho)

Falls becomes O’Connor’s latest January recruit following the arrivals of Gavin Gilmore, Nathaniel Ferris, Charlie Lindsay and Mikey Harkin.

The signings of Falls and Glentoran loanee Ferris, who scored on his debut in Tuesday’s 4-2 Irish Cup win over Newington, could go a long way towards helping improve Glenavon’s goal return – they’ve netted only 18 times in 23 league matches.

“Conor is another example of the young, quality players the Irish League is attracting at the minute,” said O’Connor. “We’re delighted to be able to get another option up front and in Conor we believe we have someone who will complement the other recent additions we’ve made.

“He’s got great movement and is very athletic and he loves scoring goals. He’ll be a real handful for opposition defences and if we continue creating chances both Conor and the other new guys we’ve brought in will continue to convert them.

“Anyone who was there on Tuesday will have seen how the quality we’ve added in recent weeks has improved us as an attacking threat. Once those guys settle in and we all get used to playing together we’ll be more of a force to be reckoned with.”

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Ahead of Saturday’s visit of Glentoran, where both Ferris and Lindsay will be unavailable to feature against their parent club, Glenavon sit eight points adrift at the bottom with 15 matches still to play.

Falls is hoping to make an immediate impact to help the Co Armagh club preserve top-flight status and is excited for the opportunity to gain more senior minutes.

“I’m excited to get going,” he said. “I want to help the team out by doing what I love which is scoring goals.

“When I spoke to Mick about coming here he was clear about the expectations that he and the club have about the kind of player and person they want here – good, hard-working and hungry players who want to do their best for the club and contribute to the team both on and off the pitch.”

“I’m looking forward to doing that by getting stuck in and helping the team bounce back from their early season form and doing our best to stay in the league.”

Falls scored Cliftonville’s opening goal in last weekend’s 3-0 Irish Cup fifth round victory over Championship outfit Dundela and will be unable to feature when his parent club face Glenavon next month.