Aidan Keena, top scorer in the League of Ireland Premier Division in 2022, has departed Sligo Rovers for Cheltenham Town for an undisclosed fee.The League 1 side have pounced for one of the league's leading players for what is a record transfer for the third tier England side.The move represents a major blow to Sligo just three weeks out from the start of the new campaign with much resting on Keena's shoulders in their attempts to regain a place in Europe for 2024.The Mullingar native scored the winning goal in their away leg win over Motherwell in the Europa Conference League as part of 21 goals during his 12 months at the club, helping them reach the third round of the qualifiers.
Cheltenham Town director of football Micky Moore is delighted to sign the 23-year-old on a three year contract."Aidan was our number one target of the window," said Moore."I know the window has been fustrating from the outside, but we've worked really hard to fight off a lot of competition, and I'm really happy we've been able to sign Aidan for Cheltenham."Keena follows Ed McGinty, John Mahon, Jordan Gibson and Johnny Kenny in transferring to the UK in the last two years, and while John Russell has attempted to replenish his squad, the loss of Keena will be felt particularly hard so close to the new season.