17-year-old Lincoln City midfielder Oisin Gallagher has secured his first professional deal at the club, after impressing for the under-18s this season.
The talented youngster, described by first-team boss Michael Appleton as a ‘proper box-to-box midfielder’, penned a three-year deal with the Imps having impressed the first-team coaching staff since arriving from Derry City on a two-year scholarship in the summer.
Having been included in numerous matchday squads already this season, Oisin explained how he wanted to continue to enjoy the experience he is gaining with the senior team.
“All I wanted to be when I was younger was to be a professional footballer and I’m glad to have this opportunity,” he told the club website.
“I’ve been able to train with the first team from nearly day one and I’ve loved every minute of it – they’ve been so welcoming.
“I want to enjoy it more than anything because when you enjoy it that’s when the best performances come out of you. Hopefully, I can keep getting the chance to enjoy the experiences of being with the first team and then from there keep working hard and we’ll see what happens.”
Oisin has been in fine goalscoring form for the U18’s, scoring five and assisting three, subsequently earning him a call up to the Republic of Ireland U19s for their European qualifying campaign.
And it is not just on the field that the Irishman is thriving, his commitment towards the SEP programme and BTEC Extended Diploma is worthy of recognition. While only in the first year of his LFE apprenticeship, Oisin is on course to achieve a MMM.
Imps director of football Jez George added: “Oisin is a player with huge potential, who we were delighted to sign from Derry City in the summer and this is another step on what we hope will be a long and successful career for him, initially with Lincoln City.
“A common trait in all young players who reach their potential is an elite mindset, and Oisin certainly has that to go with undoubted technical ability and physical attributes. We are all excited about his future but now we have secured Oisin’s to be at the club for the next three years, he can concentrate on all the work required to make the next steps in his development. We have a lot of really good staff across the first team and academy who will drive that process.
“Finally a word about Oisin’s mum and dad, who are our guests at the game on Saturday and have been fantastic in their support and help since we first saw Oisin last October and first met them last Christmas. They should be rightly proud of Oisin but also recognise their part in his achievements to date and hopefully many more in the future.”
