Date published: August 16, 2022
Connor Malley
Rochdale Football Club have announced that midfielder Connor Malley has joined the club on a short-term deal after appearing in several of Dale’s pre-season friendlies during a trial period.
Malley spent time at Sunderland’s academy as a youth, before moving to Middlesbrough in 2016. He made his debut for Boro last season before leaving the club this summer.
The 22-year-old has had loan spells at Ayr United, Carlisle United and Gateshead over the past three seasons.
On signing for Dale, Malley said: “I am delighted to have finally crossed the line.
“Since I arrived I feel like the manager wants me here. In the [friendly] games, he gave me the license to express myself and show what I can do.
“Fortunately, he decided to trust me and bring me to the club.
“All the guys are great – it’s a great group to be involved with. The setup here, the manager, the way he works with his players, it was a big attraction for me to want to come here.
The gaffer commented: “Connor did some trials with us in pre-season and did very well. He’s missed a training block since, so it will take him some time to get up to speed.
“In terms of ability, we all saw what we could do, especially in the Scunthorpe friendly.
“He’s a very good passer. He’ll keep the ball very well for us. It’s a bonus that he has physical stature on the pitch as well.
“We don’t see this as blocking a path for an Ethan [Brierley] or something like that. It was a position we seemed a little short on once we had the Liam Kelly injury [last week] and that adds competition.
“It’s a deal that works for us and a deal that works for Connor. We think we are in a good position to develop players, he wants to do that, he really wants to be here and he turned down longer contracts at clubs to come to us.
“It shows his ambition but also shows us that we are an attractive club.
