'Natural centre-forward' makes move in transfer deal that breaks Irish League record

With the domestic benchmark set at around £100,000​ following high-profile moves by Lee Bonis (Portadown to Larne) and Shay McCartan (Ballymena United to Glentoran), the Bannsiders’ push to bring in Brooks has been reported to the News Letter as a package past those previous figures.

With a Premiership hat-trick on his goal-scoring tally for the season so far thanks to treble delight for the Crues against Portadown, Brooks’ arrival is one Coleraine fans may celebrate as a significant addition irrespective of the price tag.

Coleraine boss Ruaidhri Higgins views the 22-year-old from Scotland as "a natural centre-forward”.

Following confirmation of the deal on deadline day, Higgins highlighted: “Adam is a natural centre-forward and he’s a different player to Matthew (Shevlin).

“When you look at our squad, Matthew was probably our only option as a natural number nine.

“We felt that we needed to add to that department and, thankfully, we’ve got a really good one in Adam.

“We’ve invested in this signing but we feel it is a worthy investment because he’s only 22 years old, he’s signing a long-term contract and I think he can go to another level.

“We would like to think we can make this his home now.”

Brooks – who has represented Scotland across the under 16s, under 17s and under 19s – started out on the books at Celtic and spent almost a decade with the Glasgow club during time that included UEFA Youth League goals against Real Madrid and Shakthar Donetsk.

He gained early senior experience with Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Queen of the South before last summer’s switch to the Irish League and Crusaders.

A Coleraine statement following the signing announcement highlighted how “his strong work ethic and eye for goal have quickly become hallmarks of his game” and “that goalscoring instinct was evident two weeks ago when he hit a hat-trick against Portadown”.

The Crues also released a statement across the club social media platforms following Brooks’ unveiling at Coleraine.

The club statement read: “Crusaders FC can confirm that Adam Brooks has completed a permanent transfer to Coleraine FC for an undisclosed fee.

"Adam joined Crusaders ahead of the 2025/26 season following the expiry of his contract with Queen of the South, arriving at Seaview as a free agent.

"During his time with the club, Adam made 47 appearances, scoring 11 goals with 12 assists, and played an important role in the squad across his time in the red and black.

"Crusaders FC would like to place on record our thanks to Adam for his efforts, professionalism and commitment during his time at Seaview.

"Everyone at Crusaders FC wishes Adam all the very best for the next chapter of his career with Coleraine FC.”