JAMES McManus has joined Sligo Rovers on loan from Bohemians for the remainder of the season.
McManus, 20, was an unused substitute for Bohs against John Russell’s side in the 1-1 draw on Friday night.
And the midfielder has now moved to The Showgrounds in search of regular football with boss Alan Reynolds insisting he remains a big part of his long-term plans.
Reynolds said: “James is a quality midfielder with huge potential who has a massive future ahead of him with Bohs.
“He has done really well for us this season but we felt that after his season last year was disrupted so much by injury, the best thing for James’ development right now is that he is playing and starting regularly.
“He’s been around the first team for so long now that people forget he is only 20.
“The hope for him now is that he will play regularly at Sligo Rovers and come back to us at the end of the year an even better player than he already is.”
McManus broke into the first team in 2022 and had a much greater involvement in 2023 when he helped the club reach the FAI Cup final.
He also came close to joining Norwich City but ultimately stayed at Dalymount but endured a stop-start season in 2024 because of injuries with the return of Dawson Devoy and Ross Tierney to the club increasing competition for places.
But he was given a new contract until the end of 2027 in May to underline how highly rated he is.
McManus said: “I’ve been in and out and haven’t played as much as I feel I need to and want to. I spoke to Bohs about letting me go for a short while and once that was agreed, John was straight in touch.
“It didn’t take long for me to be convinced that Sligo was the place for me.
“I have seen how many young players have flourished under John at the Showgrounds. He puts trust in young players and gives you a platform to show people that young players are good enough to play at this level.”
Bohs have, meanwhile, welcomed back Cian Byrne from his loan spell at Galway United.
The centre-back will help fill the void left by the departure of Seán Grehan.
Grehan was signed by Doncaster Rovers from Crystal Palace on a three-year deal after an impressive loan stint with his former club Bohs.
Byrne, 22, played every game for which he was eligible for Galway.
Reynolds said “Cian is similar to James in that he is at the stage of his career where it was important to keep getting more games under his belt to continue to develop.
“He’s been an ever-present for Galway this season and the experience he has had being away from the club for a period and playing so regularly should really stand to him now.
“So we are really looking forward to getting him back into the group.”
