Premier League striker arrives at Pride Park on four-year deal.
Premier League striker arrives at Pride Park on four-year deal.
Derby County are delighted to announce the signing of striker Conor Sammon for an undisclosed fee from Premier League side Wigan Athletic.
The 25-year-old has ended Nigel Clough’s lengthy pursuit of the Irishman, who has put pen-to-paper on a four-year deal with the Club after the formalities of the move were completed this morning.
He was in attendance at Pride Park Stadium on Saturday to watch Derby draw 2-2 with Sheffield Wednesday, and will go straight into the squad to face Bolton Wanderers on Tuesday evening at the Reebok Stadium - subject to FA & Football League clearance.
Sammon becomes Clough’s seventh signing of the summer following the captures of Richard Keogh, Michael Jacobs, Paul Coutts, James O’Connor, Michael Hoganson and Valentin Gjokaj, and the Rams boss has revealed his delight at being able snap up his number one striking target.
He said: “When we first drew up a list of potential options with regards to bringing in a new striker it’s fair to say Conor was top of the list, our number one target actually, so we’re delighted to announce his arrival.
“Having tracked him closely at Kilmarnock and, as everyone knows, been so close to bringing him in 18 months ago, we’ve monitored his progress at Wigan in the Premier League and we know he is capable of finding the back of the net.
“He is going to be a key player for us and when he plays regularly, we know he can score goals. We really like how hard he works too and that means he will fit into our squad comfortably."
Sammon started his career with Irish club Cherry Orchard, before signing a scholarship with University College Dublin AFC ahead of the 2005-06 campaign.
His impressive displays for UCD attracted the interest of fellow League of Ireland side Derry City, and Sammon eventually made a move to the Candystripes in December 2007.
Despite not being able to hold down a regular first-team place at the Brandywell, a number of Scottish sides were made aware of the Irishman’s potential, and after a short trial, Sammon signed a three-year deal with Kilmarnock in July 2008 for an undisclosed fee.
In the 2010-11 campaign, Sammon netted 18 goals in 27 games for Killy and in January 2011, his goalscoring exploits prompted Premier League side Wigan to pay around £600,000 for his services.
The former Republic of Ireland under-21 international made his Premier League debut in March last year, in the Latics’ 1-0 defeat to Manchester City, and Sammon went on to score his first goal for the Club two months later in their 3-2 victory over West Ham United.