Winger swaps life at Limerick FC for Linfield

WINGER Daniel Kearns has swapped life at Limerick FC for Irish Premiership side Linfield.

Kearns has joined Windsor Park-based Linfield on a two-year deal.

The Belfast native, 26, will provide competition for the likes of Andrew Waterworth and Jonathan Smith following the departure of Kurtis Byrne.

Kearns moved to West Ham as a teenager but didn’t feature for The Hammers first team before departing in 2010.

A former Republic of Ireland U-21 international, Kearns returned to play with Dundalk and in 2011 played in the League of Ireland side against Celtic in Dublin’s Super Cup.

Kearns impressed for Limerick since joining the Markets Field side from Sligo Rovers last November.

"It's a good move for me to come home to Belfast. I'm really looking forward to working with David Healy who was a top striker in his day," Kearns said.

"My aim is to enjoy my football and I want to score goals, win football matches and win trophies and I believe I can do that here.

"I know there's a lot of pressure on the players at this club, as the demands and the expectations are so great but the pressure will bring out the best of me and I'm used to handling pressure at my previous clubs."