GOALKEEPER Arlo Doherty is Derry City’s first signing of the off-season. The 21-year-old, who has been with the club since September, has signed an initial 18-month deal with the Candystripes.
Doherty, who has been at Norwich City, Manchester City and Leicester City academies, believes working alongside current number one Brian Maher has improved his game and he can’t wait for the 2025 season to start.
“The players and staff have made me feel very welcome and I have really enjoyed being involved with the goalkeeping group and the squad generally,” he stated.
“I have a very good relationship with ‘Doc’ (Michael Dougherty – Derry City goalkeeping coach) and the other keepers and I believe we will challenge each other, which will benefit the team.
“I’ve enjoyed my experiences in England and my style would be very similar to Brian. At my other clubs the focus was also on keeping the team in possession and being able to play out with both feet.
“I’m very ambitious and I’m very proud of my Irish heritage. I have a lot of hard work to do but I’m ready.
“I want to be here beyond 2025 and in helping Derry City I also hope to use my time here to help push me into the Ireland U21 set-up as well.
“It’s a challenge I can’t wait to start.”
As for Dougherty, he believes the former Ireland underage international net-minder has a bright future ahead of him.
“I’m absolutely delighted to officially introduce Arlo Doherty as the newest member of our first-team goalkeeper group,” admitted Dougherty.
“Arlo is someone we identified midway through last season and we managed to get him here towards the back-end of 2024 to spend some time with us.
“He’s been exceptional since he arrived; very quiet and unassuming off the pitch, but he brings a real quality and work ethic to improve his game.
“His goalkeeping education is impressive, previously with Norwich, Manchester City and Leicester City, three clubs that put a lot of development time into him and allowed him to kick-start his international career with Ireland.
“There’s been a spotlight around Derry City’s goalkeepers over the past few years, mainly down to Brian Maher’s outstanding performances, also our young academy goalkeepers progressing into international football and transferring to English clubs.
“It’s obviously something we are proud of – giving young goalkeepers the chance to progress – and Arlo is now a big part of this project, so we are delighted to have him at Derry City.”
