Corey O’Keeffe returns to Rochdale on a permanent deal

Corey O'Keeffe

Corey O’Keeffe has signed a contract with Rochdale AFC until the end of the 2022 season.

The full-back, 23, who spent the first half of the season on loan at the Crown Oil Arena from Mansfield Town, has now penned a deal until the end of the season.

O’Keeffe said he was “delighted” about the signing, adding that he “loved his time here [at Rochdale].”

He said: “I’ve loved my time here. It’s the happiest I’ve been playing football throughout my career. I just want to keep going and be happy, and play football.

“That was a big thing about coming back here. I just loved it - the lads, staff, everything, so I just wanted to be back here.”

Manager Robbie Stockdale added: “He was a very important player for us at the start of the season and we hope he will be in the second half for us too.

“He was a very important player for us at the start of the season and we hope he will be in the second half for us too.

“The five players that we’ve signed this window are the five that we set out to get and we’ve got in, and we’re still hopeful of one more.”

O’Keeffe quickly became a fans’ favourite during his loan spell at the club, during which he made 29 appearances, scoring four goals.

O’Keeffe joined Birmingham City’s Academy in 2008, before signing a scholarship with the club in 2014.

He made his professional debut for Birmingham in December 2016, before joining Solihull Moors on loan the following season, making 13 appearances in the National League.

In the 2019/20 campaign, the Irishman joined Macclesfield Town on loan, where he appeared 31 times in League Two for the Silkmen.

After leaving Birmingham in the summer of 2020, the full-back signed a two-year deal with Mansfield Town.