James Knowles is the latest new face at Dungannon Swifts following his recent release by Ballymena United.
The 28-year-old makes the switch to Stangmore Park on a one-year deal after spending the last three seasons at The Showgrounds, making 11 first team outings last term.
The versatile midfielder kicked his career off as a youth at Lisburn Distillery before moving to Blackburn Rovers for three years, and then returning to these shores to sign for Cliftonville for a number of seasons. He also turned out for Linfield, Ards and Glentoran ahead of his time at Ballymena.
His new boss at Stangmore Park, Dean Shiels, spoke highly of his talents: "James is a player I’ve always liked. I’ve watched James career for a long time and I know the ability he has," he told the official club media.
"He’s courageous on the ball, wants the ball in tight areas, he’s got a great range of passing and he’s a typical midfielder that will suit our style of play. I’m excited to watch him next season and I’m really delighted to get him on board."
And Knowles is eager to get started in his new surroundings: "I’m over the moon to sign for the club. I spoke to Dean at the start of the week and was happy with everything he had to say.
"He obviously seen me play last year. I loved the way Dean was trying to implement the way the team was trying to play. I saw it from afar and thought it could suit my style of play, so after speaking to the manager I felt I didn’t need to look any further. I’m looking forward to getting going and hopefully show what I can do."
