Connor Ripley has signed a one-year-deal with League One side Morecambe after the expiration of his Preston North End contract.
The 29-year-old will hope to get his career back on track after a tough spell playing second and third fiddle at Deepdale.
The role of an understudy keeper is never an easy one, and in Connor Ripley’s spell at Preston North End he was predominantly a reserve to Declan Rudd and Daniel Iversen.
After joining from Middlesbrough in January 2019 the goalkeeper made only 10 appearances with just three of them coming in the league.
HITC Sevens’ All Time Premier League XI
One particular FA Cup outing against Norwich City in 2020 wasn’t particularly pretty viewing, as it saw Ripley make numerous mistakes, and he never looked like cementing a place as the number one goalkeeper at the club.
Now coming into what should be the peak of a goalkeeper’s career he has found himself a new club which means he can stay in the local area with his family and look to have a good season in League One with Derek Adams’ Morecambe side, who did very well to stave off relegation in League One last season.
Ripley does have plenty of experience in League One having played for Oxford United, Oldham Athletic, Bury and Accrington Stanley, the latter of which drew the attention of North End and led to the permanent transfer from Boro.
MORE PRESTON STORIES
Ripley also enjoyed spells on loan in Scotland with Motherwell and in Sweden with Ostersund.
Ripley didn’t seem to be short of offers this summer, telling the official Morecambe website; “There were a few football clubs interested in myself from Scotland and here in England as well, teams in League Two, League One and the Championship.”
One of his first games for The Shrimps could come against his former club Middlesbrough as they are set to face each other in a pre-season friendly in July.
Meanwhile as reported on Deepdale Digest a few days ago, as expected David Cornell has joined Preston to provide competition to Freddie Woodman between the sticks. He has joined on a two-year deal after leaving Peterborough United.