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Sligo Rovers sign Lithuanian defender Sigitas Olberkis

Sligo Rovers have added some international flavour to their defence with the signing of Lithuania...



Sligo Rovers sign Lithuanian d...
Soccer

Sligo Rovers sign Lithuanian defender Sigitas Olberkis

Sligo Rovers have added some international flavour to their defence with the signing of Lithuanian Sigitas Olberkis. 

The 23-year old joins from the Maltese strugglers, Senglea Athletic.

Olkerkis hasn't played competitively since early March when COVID-19 brought an early halt to the Maltese season.

The central defender does not need to quarantine upon his arrival, as Lithuania is currently on Ireland's 'green list' for travel.

However, his move is still subject to international clearance.

Sligo can possibly thank the WatchLOI service for Olberkis' arrival, as his ability to watch the Bit-O-Red was a convincing factor to join.

"When it was put to me about moving to Sligo in Ireland," he said, "I know it is a good league and it is a good option for me.

“I streamed the game with Derry City last Friday and I could see the team are a good one.

"It also confirmed to me why Ireland often comes up as a league for players to go to. The standard is good and the football is good."

The former Lithuania U21 international will train with his new team-mates on Friday, but is unlikely to feature in Saturday's SSE Airtricity Premier Division meeting with Shelbourne.

"I’ve been looking at bringing in an additional defender because of injuries," said Sligo boss Liam Buckley.

"From John Mahon at the start of the year, to a range of others, we’ve been really hit hard in that area.

"It is the way it transpired where we were down to one available defender in the squad at times.

"Sigitas is a great addition, a really good ball player and he has played in a few leagues so it’s not a major transition to come here.

"He was with Žalgiris last season who are one of the leading teams in his country and was doing well in Malta before that league stopped.

"He’s available straight away once we get clearance, any player we would bring in now has to be from a country where it is safe to do so.

"We’re getting close to some of the defenders coming back and we’ll be really strong in that area.

"We’re looking forward to get him involved with us, starting with training on Friday. It was a good restart for us in Derry, that is gone now and we’re looking for the next big performance from us."

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Derry City League Of Ireland Liam Buckley SSE Airtricity Premier Division Sigitas Olberkis Sligo Rovers WatchLOI