It’s a Dunne deal
Motherwell defender signs for St Mirren
St Mirren boss Jim Goodwin insists Charles Dunne is fully fit after making the switch from Motherwell to Paisley. The 28-year-old has played just seven games over the last two seasons in claret and amber, having suffered a spate of injuries that included a serious groin issue that required surgery. Before then he was a integral part of the Motherwell side that reached the League Cup and Scottish Cup finals in the 2017-18 season, his first north of the border, both of which were lost to Celtic.
Goodwin is adamant that Dunne has put his injury problems behind him as he made him his first signing of the
summer. He said: “People might look at the last 12 months or so with the lack of game time that he’s had and that’s solely down to a bit of bad luck on the injury front.
“But he’s fully recovered now, and he’s done a thorough medical with our physio Kevin Bain so there’s absolutely no concerns with Charles’ fitness going forward.
“I’m delighted to finally get Charles over the line.
“It’s one we’ve been working on for a number of months now. He’s had a number of other options on the table, but I’m delighted he sees his future here at St Mirren.
“We’ve been short of natural left-sided defenders in the last season and Charles plays that role really well.
“He’s got pace, he’s got power, he’s very good on the ball, he suits the way we want to play and he’s a really good character as well.”
Dunne follows in former teammate Richard Tait’s footsteps in joining the Saints after his release by the North Lanarkshire side.
The strong centre back counts Wycombe Wanderers, Blackpool and Oldham among his former clubs, and was capped by Republic of Ireland at under-21 level.
He will now vie with skipper Joe Shaughnessy, Conor McCarthy, Marcus Fraser and Tait for a spot in the Buddies backline next season.
St Mirren chief executive Tony Fitzpatrick revealed in his latest statement that the club are working hard on other signings to strengthen the side.
He also paid tribute to those who recently left the club, including fan favourite Jon Obika.
Fitzpatrick said: “I would like to say a thank you and good luck to the players who have now moved on from St Mirren.
“Whilst their contributions to the club were all different, we’re grateful to them for playing their part at the club.
“I would like to make a special mention to Jon Obika who scored 20 goals in his two seasons at St Mirren and engaged brilliantly with our all aspects of our club.
“We are working hard in the background to add to the squad and hope to be able to announce new signings very soon.”