The League of Ireland's new striker Morten Nielsen has swapped Stamford Bridge for the Showgrounds.

He signed for Chelsea as a 16-year-old and spent three years at Stamford Bridge in their youth academy. While there Nielsen played in the Chelsea team which made it to the final of the FA Youth Cup in 2008 against Manchester City.

The Danish striker left Chelsea in 2009 and according to the Daily Mail, he did so after a conversation he had with Didier Drogba in the jacuzzi at Chelsea's training ground in Cobham.

He moved to Dutch club AZ Alkmaar before loan spells in Swedish and Danish football.

Sligo manager Owen Heary hailed the signing and said: "He is a goalscorer first and foremost. We done our research with Gerry Cassidy and found a high calibre player.

"He has scored goals wherever he has been. He was at Chelsea for a few years when he was young training with players like Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka.

"He comes with a good pedigree, his father was a Danish international and he played underage international football too. He’s a young player who has a bit about him and is the sort of player we were looking for. There was a few clubs in Scotland looking to sign him so I’m delighted he has chosen to come to Rovers."

Online Editors