Bannsiders' boss excited to start working with last year's Irish League player of the year
Joel Cooper.
Reporter:
Damian Mullan
Email:
damian.mullan@thechronicle.uk.com
Wednesday 4 June 2025 21:43
The worst kept secret in football is out - Joel Cooper is a Coleraine player!
Months after it was revealed the Linfield midfielder had signed a pre-contract with the Bannsiders, the 29-year-old has finally been officially unveiled at the Showgrounds.
The current NI Football Writers' Player of the Year, Cooper has signed a multi-year deal at the Showgrounds and joins Stephen Fallon and Kodi Lyons-Foster as summer recruits.
And it's fair to say his new manager Ruaidhri Higgins is excited to get started now that the formalities have been dispensed with.
“Joel is obviously a winner, he’s won over and over again and knows what it takes," said the Bannsiders' boss.
“He’s an extremely talented footballer that anyone would want to work with.
"I’m excited to start working with him and the conversations I’ve had with Joel he’s a very driven individual and he will come here looking to achieve and take this club to the next level.
“If you want to achieve and get other players to follow you need winners in your changing room and I think he will lead with his actions.
“What he achieved last season was incredible and I think he will be absolutely brilliant for this football club," added Higgins.
Cooper arrives on the Ballycastle Road after a stellar season with the Blues last time out as his 19 goals helped Linfield get their hands on the Gibson Cup.
On a personal level, the Ballyclare man’s consistent and excellent performances saw him take home the NI Football Writers’ Player of the Year, the Ulster Footballer of the Year, the NIFL Player of the Year and the PFA NI Player of the Year awards.
The attacker started his career at Ballyclare Comrades before joining Glenavon, where he helped the Lurgan Blues win the Irish Cup in 2016.
Cooper joined Linfield for the first of his two permanent spells in 2018 and played a pivotal role as David Healy’s men won the Irish Premiership in three successive seasons, which also included the Irish Cup in 2021.
His high level of performance drew the attention of English side Oxford United, before Cooper returned home to Northern Ireland where a loan move back to Linfield was made permanent – sandwiched between a temporary spell at Port Vale.
His second spell at Windsor Park yielded another league title success and two League Cups as Cooper continued to deliver in the big moments.
On the international scene, Cooper featured five times for Northern Ireland U21s and was called-up to the senior squad in 2020 under Ian Baraclough.
