Lafferty left seeking new club after his Reggina exit

NORTHERN Ireland striker Kyle Lafferty is available on a free transfer after leaving Reggina.

The former Hearts and Rangers ace moved to the Serie B side in the summer but his second spell in Italy is over.

After 11 appearances and two goals in all competitions, the 33-year-old has left after an agreement with the club to terminate his contract.

Reggina were hoping to make a push for promotion but currently sit 14th.

A club statement said: “President Luca Gallo and Reggina announce that they have reached an agreement with the player Kyle Lafferty for the early consensual termination of the contract.

“Thanking Kyle for his professionalism, Reggina wishes him the best sporting fortunes.”

Lafferty had a stint at Palermo earlier in his career but the frontman has struggled to rediscover his magic touch in front of goal.

The Fermanagh man has had four clubs in the last two years, with spells at Rangers, Norwegian side Sarpsborg and Sunderland all proving short-lived before his move back to Italy.

His first spell in the country, with Palermo, ended in controversy back in 2014.

He was then also playing in Serie B, where he netted 11 league goals to help fire his side to the title and promotion to Serie A.

His performances even helped him to outshine team-mate and would-be Juventus hero Paulo Dybala.

As a result, Lafferty won the Fans’ Player of the Season award but he was also criticised for his off-field behaviour by owner Maurizio Zamparini, who branded the forward an “out-of-control womaniser, an Irishman without rules” and said he “had to go”, denying Lafferty the chance to play in Italy’s top division.

Lafferty hasn’t scored for Northern Ireland in over four years, his strike at home to Azerbaijan in November 2016 the most recent of his 20 international goals — a total that places him behind only David Healy in the nation’s all-time scoring charts.

He featured in Northern Ireland’s agonising Euro 2020 playoff final defeat to Slovakia while mourning his late sister, Sonia, who tragically passed away in November.

Reggina, who competed in Italy’s top tier from 1999 to 2009, declared bankruptcy in 2015 and, restarting life in Serie D, are working their way back through the divisions, having won promotion to Serie B last year.

Lafferty won six major trophies at Ibrox between 2008 and 2012 before returning in 2018.