Pat's boss Tim Clancy hails attitude of Serie A-bound defender James Abankwah

New St Patrick's Athletic manager Tim Clancy hailed the attitude of Udinese-bound James Abankwah ahead of the start of the 2022 season.

The 18-year-old Longford native, an impressive figure in Pat's FAI Cup triumph last season, recently signed a high-profile deal with the Serie A club for a fee reported to be in the region of €500,000.

Abankwah will remain on loan with St Pat's until July, allowing for the completion of his Leaving Cert, and will depart for Italy in time for the 2022-23 season.

The Pat's boss says Udinese have not imposed any conditions on how Abankwah can be used before he leaves for the north of Italy and discloses that as Drogheda United boss, he tried to pilfer Abankwah at the beginning of last year.

"No, there are no limitations. The benefit was James could come back and finish his Leaving Cert, and he plays with us until July," Clancy told RTÉ Sport at the SSE Airtricity League launch in Dublin this week.

"I remember watching James in an Under-19s game at the start of last season and speaking to Stevie [O'Donnell] and Seán O'Connor and a few at the club at the time, and trying to nick him off Pat’s and try and get him on loan for Drogheda.

"But they said no, he’s very well thought of, and a few weeks before I worked with him, before he got to Udinese, you could see there is a very high ceiling in where James can go.

"Athletically he’s very, very good and football-wise he’s only going to get better as well. It’s a really interesting one to see how his career develops. It’s going to be a pleasure for me to work with him for the next six months and see where he goes on after that.

"He's a really good kid. Very well mannered, a kind kid and he’s got a brilliant attitude which bodes well for him in his career