General
- Wednesday January 18th, 2023 @ 15:45
#SAINTS2023 - Mulraney Is A Super Saint!
St Patrick's Athletic continued preparations for the new League of Ireland by adding Jake Mulraney to the squad on a multi-year contract.
The 26-year-old joins the club from Major League Soccer side Orlando City, subject to international clearance.
Jake made over 60 appearances during his three years in the MLS with Atlanta United and then Orlando City.
The Dubliner spent his schoolboy career with Crumlin United before moving to Nottingham Forest in 2012, spending two years at The City Ground.
He joined Queens Park Rangers in December 2014 and made his English League debut on loan at Dagenham and Redbridge in October 2015 before another loan spell at Stevenage.
Mulraney moved to Scotland in June 2016, signing a two year deal with Inverness Caledonian Thistle, winning the Scottish Challenge Cup in 2017-2018, before joining Hearts in May 2018, where he worked with current St Pat's Assistant Manager Jon Daly. He made a total of 90 appearances in Scotland.
Jake's next destination was America, and after three seasons with Atlanta and Orlando City, he returned to Dublin to join The Super Saints.
He'll wear the number 20 shirt at Richmond Park and can't wait to get going:
"I'm delighted to get it over the line and am really excited to be a St Pat's player. It's been a crazy couple of days. Myself and my family decided it was time to come back from America and settle back at home.
After speaking to Tim Clancy, Jon Daly, Garrett Kelleher and the club, it was a no brainer for me to sign and I'm looking forward to the next few years."
Mulraney had a number of offers from both the League of Ireland and further afield, and told us why he opted to join St Pat's:
"I've heard a lot of good things about the club and have been watching the games and the highlights etc in America, I know the club is on the up, there's lots of quality in the squad and coming up through the academy, and once I'd spoken to the club, it just made sense for me the sign here.
I've been away for years (since the age of the 14) so myself and the family are delighted to be home, seeing how our baby is at home too was a big part of the decision, overall I can't wait and I'm looking forward to it."
Watch Jake's full interview on Youtube.
Manager Tim Clancy added: "Jake is a great signing for the club and is another key addition to our squad for the 2023 season and beyond, both on and off the pitch.
Jake previously worked with Jon Daly at Hearts and we know that he will fit in well with the group.
He was of interest to us last year while he was still in the MLS, so when we heard about the possibility of him coming home, we were interested in signing him straight away.
He's an old school winger with lots of pace, who likes to create and score goals and we think he'll fit perfectly into our squad and the way we are trying to play.
There was a lot of interest in Jake and he had a number of other offers, we are very happy that he's chosen to sign for St Pat's, his ambition matches ours and we are looking forward to seeing Jake in action on the pitch."
