Dundee FC have announced the signing of Irish international Darren O’Dea until the end of the season.
The 28-year-old, who has been capped 20 times for the Republic of Ireland, returns to Scottish football since leaving Celtic in 2012.
Dundee moved to snap up the defender after James McPake was ruled out for the rest of the season with a fractured knee cap and fellow defender Julen out injured after sustaining an eye injury against Motherwell recently.
O’Dea made his first team debut for Celtic in 2006, playing 70 times for the Glasgow side scoring six times – including the first goal in the 2009 League Cup Final 2-0 win over Rangers in 2009.
In September 2009, he went out on loan to English championship side Reading playing eight times, before returning to Celtic.
Two further loan spells followed in the English championship with Ipswich and Leeds the destination, before he signed for MLS outfit Toronto FC in 2012. July 2013 saw the Irish defender move to Ukraine with FC Metalurh Donetsk – but with war raging in the country O’Dea returned to the UK to sign a short-term deal with Blackpool.
Summer 2015, O’Dea was on the move again as he joined Nicolas Anelka’s Mumbai City side in the Indian Super League before leaving at the end of their season in December.
