General
- Thursday July 1st, 2021 @ 17:55
Lewis Signs For The Saints!
St Patrick's Athletic are delighted to announce that Alfie Lewis has signed a contract with the club until the end of the season.
On a busy day, the midfielder has also been voted as our player of month for June, having already won the May award, after some excellent performances in his debut season in Inchicore!
The 21-year-old joined St Pat's on loan from West Ham at the beginning of this season and has made 13 appearances so far, scoring once, helping The Saints to the top of the table heading into this weekend's games.
His loan deal expired on June 26th after our match in Waterford the evening before.
Lewis has been telling us about his decision to return to Richmond Park:
"It feels good to be back and I'm excited to continue my time with St Pat's. I've enjoyed it so far, we've got a great group of players and staff and we are going for the league so hopefully we can finish the season on a high!"
"I spoke to my family and my girlfriend over the weekend and I'm happy with my decision. I've been getting into my stride and I feel like I've been getting better and I've got the right people around me at St Pat's to help me continue to develop and perform and give me confidence."
Alfie's contract with West Ham came to an end last week and he has chosen to sign for The Saints amid interest from other clubs in the UK.
He had been with his boyhood club since the age of eight, he made his Premier League 2 debut at the age of 16 in 2016, and had been a regular at U23s before his move to Dublin.
He also featured in a number of EFL Trophy matches for West Ham and was on the bench for the first team for their Premier League game against Chelsea last season.
"Of course it will feel strange not going back there for pre-season and not seeing the boys and the coaches that I've known for a long time but you have to move on. This loan period has been good for me to get away from a comfortable environment to push myself and I feel I can get better with Pat's which I'll hopefully do between now and the end of the season."
O'Donnell Delight
Head Coach Stephen O'Donnell has also been reacting to the news:
"We are delighted to have Alfie back until the end of the season, he has really hit a rich vein of form since the break. There was a lot of interest in Alfie so it's testament to everyone involved in the club that he enjoyed his stay so much so far. He's signed until the end of the season, we'll see where that takes him and where it takes us.
You are always delighted when you have quality players in your squad and Alfie adds a lot to us in that department. I'm really looking forward to working with him between now and the end of the season and we are really happy to get the deal over the line.
The St Pat's fans seem to have really taken to him and his performances so far, having got to see him live in the wins against Sligo and Finn Harps, and I know he's looking forward to playing in front of them between now and the end of the season."
Lewis will continue to wear the number 16 shirt but will miss tomorrow's Dublin Derby away to Bohemians due to suspension.
