SHAMROCK ROVERS MANAGER Stephen Bradley has bolstered his attacking resources for the new season with the signing of 24-year-old Daniel Carr.

The English striker has joined the League of Ireland club ahead of Friday’s campaign opener against Bohemians after impressing during a recent trial period, during which he featured in last week’s Atlantic Cup in Portugal.

After coming up through the Reading academy, Carr was released by the Championship club and dropped down to non-league football where he played for Eastbourne Borough and then Dulwich Hamlet, for whom he scored 25 goals during the 2012/13 season.

On the back of those performances, he earned a trial with Liverpool but when spells with Huddersfield Town and Cambridge United failed to work out, his nomadic career continued with five loan moves in the space of three years.

Carr’s last club was Karlstad BK in Sweden but after Bradley was informed of the striker’s availability last season, Rovers have been tracking his progress and were impressed enough to table an offer for the forthcoming SSE Airtricity League season.

“We were made aware of Dan coming to the end of last season,” Bradley explained.

“A friend of mine I used to play with in England rang me and said I recommend you have a look at this kid, I think you’ll like him. That’s where it came from, we watched a bit of him online and then got him in with us for most of pre-season. We’ve really liked what he’s brought to the group, both on and off the pitch. I think he’s different to what we have in the attacking part of the field, he brings different attributes and sees the game differently to our other attacking players.

“He was excellent in Portugal but in terms of ability I probably had made my mind up after the first day I’d seen him. Keeping him with the group and bringing him away was more just about what type of character he was and how he fitted in.

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“I think Dan will score goals.”

Carr will add to Bradley’s options for Friday’s Dublin derby at Dalymount Park, with strikers Graham Burke, Gary Shaw and Sean Boyd all already on the books at Rovers.

He becomes Rovers’ sixth new signing of the close season following the arrival of Greg Bolger, Ethan Boyle, Ally Gilchrist, Joel Coustrain and former Ireland international Joey O’Brien.

Carr added: “I was young [at Huddersfield and Cambridge], you can use all types of excuses [for not playing] but I’m not really looking for that. That’s football, it’s going to happen. You learn a lot about yourself in any tough situations, hopefully I can use those experiences to steer me forward now. This is a new chapter in my career. Now is the time to move on and look to the future, hopefully score goals and do well for Rovers. As a striker that’s what I’m here to do.”

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