Town have confirmed the signing of 18-year-old keeper Alex Noonan from Shamrock Rovers, initially on loan but with an obligation to buy.

Noonan, who will be involved with John McGreal’s U21s squad, was first mentioned in connection with a move to the Blues in June with his switch to Town having been anticipated before the end of the summer.

“I’m delighted to be here,” Noonan said. “I’m looking forward to a new opportunity and pushing myself in different ways and hopefully show how good I am.”

Academy manager Ben Chenery added: “Alex is a player we’ve been following for a while now, so we’re delighted to have him on board.

“He’s a player that has a lot of potential and a bright future ahead of him, with attributes to make him a fantastic addition to our goalkeeping department.”

Capped by Ireland at U15, U16, U17, U18 and U19 levels, Noonan has previously made a number of trips to Playford Road.

While he didn't make a League of Ireland appearance for the Dublin side, he played in the President’s Cup final in January and had featured twice in the Leinster Senior Cup.

Rovers manager Stephen Bradley said earlier in the year that despite his youth, he would have had no problem giving Noonan more first-team football.

“You are talking about a top keeper,” he said. “If we were in a different place in terms of Ed [McGinty] not being firmly our number one, Alex would no doubt have a lot more games by now. He’s very good.

“If Alex had had to play the first 15 or 16 games or whatever it is, we’d have no issues. He’s good, he’s very good,”

Noonan, who is from from Maynooth in County Kildare, was Ireland’s number one at the U17 World Cup in Qatar last year.

Photo: ITFC/Matchday Images