Brentford snap up ‘tenacious’ defender ahead of the January transfer window

Brentford have signed defender Conor McManus from Bray Wanderers. The youngster will officially link up with the Premier League side at the start of January.

The Bees have announced the addition on their official club website and he has penned a two-and-a-half year deal at the Gtech Community Stadium, with the club holding the option for a further 12 months on top of that. He will initially link up with Neil MacFarlane’s B team.

Brentford have paid an undisclosed fee to lure the 18-year-old over to England. He started his career at local side Cabinteely FC before linking up with Bray in the League of Ireland Premier Division.

He made his senior debut back in May and then went on to make 16 appearances in all competitions to help boost his development. MacFarlane has said: “Conor is a terrific acquisition. Over the last few years, we’ve been able to dip into the market and bring in young players who have had some experience at first team level. He’s been playing for Bray in Ireland, and we know that he is a terrific young lad who will be part of the positive group culture that we have created here.

“He’s young, tenacious, and we know that he will improve. He has a lot of good attributes in that he really wants to defend. If we can work with him to continue to develop in the other aspects then we will have a really good young player on our hands as we move forward.”

Bray’s Head of Football Pat Devlin has said: “We are delighted for Conor. He is one of the first players to come through our programme. He is a great lad, and this is a fantastic opportunity for him.”

Brentford’s first-team are in friendly action tomorrow against Bundesliga side Wolfsburg as they look to get back up to speed. They return from the World Cup break later this month and have Tottenham Hotspur up first on Boxing Day.