Cork City FC is delighted to announce that Achille Campion has signed for the 2016 Irish Daily Mail FAI Cup winners.
The French striker joins John Caulfield squad having played most recently with Sligo Rovers, scoring four goals in 11 appearances for the Bit O’ Red.
Having played with USL Dunkerque in his native France as a youth, Campion moved to the US to study and play football with Belhaven University and then the University of California before joining Swedish First Division side Norrby IF in 2014. He moved to Port Vale on loan the same year before joining the club on a permanent basis in 2015 and was later loaned out to Torquay United before signing with Sligo Rovers in the summer.
The 26-year-old described his time in the League of Ireland to date as “fantastic”, telling CorkCityFC.ie: “The level is good and I’ve been especially impressed by Cork City. I thought they were a tough team to play against so I’m glad I’ve joined. (When I played at Turner’s Cross), there was a great atmosphere and that’s what you’re looking for as a player – for a club with a great fan base.
“I know the ambition of the club is to win titles. I know the ambition of the manager is to win titles, so I’m here to win titles. I come humbly too. The club has good players so I will come and play my part.”
Speaking about his second signing of the off season, manager John Caulfield said: “Sligo signed Achille in July and he made a big impact. He’s a big, strong centre forward; he’s very good in the air and has very good close control. At 26, he’s in the prime of his career and he’s done very well at a number of clubs. I’m delighted to have him down here because he can make a big impact for us.”
“Achille is really looking forward to coming here. He wants to progress, he wants to win trophies and he has a superb attitude. We can’t compete with big money transfers so we have to be careful about who we bring in and I feel he will make a big impact. He’ll give us more options and a different type of option as well. He’s a guy that will cause a lot of trouble, he’ll create lot of goals and score a lot of goals, and that’s what we need.”
Campion is the second arrival of the winter break, following confirmation that midfielder Jimmy Keohane will also play in green and white next season. Caulfield also paid tribute to Gavan Holohan, who had left the club, and revealed that there are a couple of busy weeks ahead.
“From this year’s squad, 13 of our 20 are retained,” he confirmed. “There are a few lads that will be leaving. Gavan was a fantastic person for us but found it difficult to sustain a regular place in the team; at the same time, he was at the biggest club in Ireland so he did really well and leaves with a Cup medal. I wish him all the best.
“Some other players will be moving on as well so things will develop over the next couple of weeks. We will have one or two more players coming in yet but it may be a week or two before they’re finalised.”
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