Brighton-bound Keogh leaves with Dundalk manager's full blessing

Dundalk FC manager Ciaran Kilduff has confirmed that Sean Keogh has played his final game for the club, with the highly regarded 19-year-old Skerries native poised to complete a move to English Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion for an undisclosed fee.

The promising young left-back was in attendance at Oriel Park on Friday night for Dundalk’s 3-2 SSE Airtricity League First Division victory over Wexford, having been sidelined by an injury sustained in the Sports Direct FAI Cup defeat to Sligo Rovers a week earlier.

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He travelled to England over the weekend, with a medical expected to take place on Monday ahead of what is reportedly a club-record transfer for The Lilywhites—and their first six-figure sale since Daniel Kearns joined Peterborough United for €175,000 in 2011.

“It looks like Sean will be moving on,” Kilduff confirmed. “He got a great opportunity and we’re not going to stand in his way. It’s good for all parties. We’re just ironing out the finer details with him.

“I’ve never had a day’s problem with Sean, and when something comes in as attractive as Brighton, the way they’ve went about it—contacting the club, and they’ve had first-hand conversations with them—I’m delighted for him and I’m proud of him.

“We are where we are right now, and when an opportunity comes like that, once the club was looked after, which I believe we were, there’s no issue. I’m delighted for the kid, and he served me so well and he served the lads so well, and he owes us nothing, so we all wish him well.”

The Republic of Ireland U19 international, who had a year remaining on the first professional contract he signed with Dundalk last year, will not be returning to The Lilywhites on loan, with Brighton eager to integrate him into Premier League life as swiftly as possible.

“I don’t think that’s the deal they’re looking for,” said Kilduff, when asked whether a loan return for Keogh for the remainder of the season was a possibility. “They’re looking for Sean to go straight in and have an impact there.

“They seem fairly keen on him. They were scouting him for the last couple of months, not just the last couple of games. He has been on their radar for a while, so it looks like he’ll be going straight away, as soon as his final bits and pieces are done.”

Keogh joins Brighton, a club that has secured top-half finishes in three of the past four Premier League seasons—highlighting the significant challenge he faces in breaking into their first team.

However, he can draw inspiration from fellow Irish talents Evan Ferguson and Andrew Moran, who made the same move from Bohemians and Bray Wanderers respectively and have since earned first-team opportunities on the south coast.

“I said it to Sean when I first met him, it’s over to him what he does,” recalled Kilduff. “He always had the ambition to kick on, and I never wanted to knock that out of him. I played in a way that allowed him to play to his strengths.

“There’s a lot of work that’s gone into Sean at this club, and it’s not very often you get to wish a player well, but it’s important we do as a club as well. Sean is a young player with ambitions, and who knows, he could be back with us someday, and we want to welcome him just as well as we’re wishing him well.”

Keogh made the switch from Drogheda United’s academy to Dundalk’s in 2023 and made his League of Ireland debut under Jon Daly a year later, featuring in a 2-0 home defeat to Waterford, and has since become a regular in the starting XI, contributing two goals and five assists in 32 league appearances.

For Dundalk—a club that flirted with liquidation as recently as last September—the income from his sale further underscores the growing importance of their academy system.

While Kilduff has not ruled out a replacement before the transfer window closes this week, 19-year-old Avenue Road native Shane Tracey impressed in Keogh’s absence at left-back and has since been confirmed as the latest player to sign a professional contract at Oriel.

“It’s the silver lining of relegation,” remarked Kilduff. “By getting relegated as a club, I had no option and I had no doubt in going with these young players. We have loads of lads breaking through.

“I just put Shane Tracey on his first pro contract because he’s deserved it and he’s earned it. He’s not a left-back, he’s the first to tell you, but he took it on and we love that. He’s local and he’s an honest lad and I’m proud of them all.”

On Keogh, he added: “Sean, I just have to sing his praises. He’s never missed a game through injury. He’s always put his hand up, even when he was any way fit, and he trains properly. Don’t get me wrong, there’s things he can improve on and that’s why I constantly cracked the whip on him.

“Earlier in the season he had played some of his better stuff, but he had stuff in the middle of his season like a Leaving Cert, that he got distracted. He wasn’t training as much, but I have no doubt had he been staying, he would’ve kicked on and finished his season strong, he’s too good of a player.

“I dubbed him as the best left-back in the country from my early days and I got to work with him and I’m delighted to see that he’s got the move that I do believe he deserves.”