Irish Premiership: McMenamin joins Glens as Reds sign O'Neill in swap deal

Conor McMenamin has joined Glentoran from Cliftonville in a swap deal which sees Paul O'Neill go the other way.

Midfielder McMenamin, 25, returns to the Oval after a move to Warrenpoint was followed by over two years at Solitude.

Northern Ireland U21 international O'Neill, who made his Glens debut in 2017, will make the opposite journey to the Reds.

Cliftonville said they are "delighted" to bring O'Neill to the north Belfast club.

O'Neill has bagged 17 goals in his 67 appearances for Glentoran. He is the seventh January signing by boss Paddy McLaughlin following the arrivals of Aaron McCarey, Rory Hale, Eoin Teggart, Kris Lowe, Barry Coffey and Daniel Kearns.

Glens boss Mick McDermott is delighted to bring McMenamin, who played for the Glens in the 2015-16 season, back to the club.

"We are excited to secure the signature of Conor, arguably the hottest property in the league at this time," he told the club website.

"I've always said that we will be interested when quality players become available. Conor clearly fits that profile and we acted swiftly to secure a deal.

"Conor had multiple offers during this window, and it shows the direction Glentoran are headed when we can attract a player of this quality. This project at Glentoran continues to move forward and we know Conor will contribute in a big way in the coming weeks, months and years.

"Paul O'Neill has gone to Cliftonville - since my arrival at the club Paul has been an important member of our team, he has been dedicated, shown great professionalism and created some great memories with some Important goals. I think the biggest compliment I can pay him is that he is a great person and a dedicated young man.

"Paul has sought a new challenge where he desires to play on a more consistent basis. That is football, the ball always rolls forward and players move on. I honestly wish him the best and he knows he will always be welcome at the Oval."