OXFORD United have signed highly-rated young goalkeeper Ed McGinty.

The stopper arrives from League of Ireland Premier Division side Sligo Rovers on a three-year deal, with the option of an extra 12 months.

The fee is officially undisclosed, although his former club have stated that it could rise to six figures.

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The last week has been a bit of a blur for McGinty and the 22-year-old revealed a former U’s fan favourite played a part in the move.

He said: “It was a quick turnaround, I only found out on Saturday.

“I know the clubs were talking with the agent for a while, but when I heard about it I thought ‘yeah, it’s a great opportunity’ and I’m just happy to get it done.

“The League of Ireland’s very good, it’s a good stepping stone – obviously you come here and it’s a big jump.

“I was speaking to Luke (McNally) about the club and it helped me make my decision.

“I reached out to him, I know him from Ireland – he gave me a rundown of the place and I thought it sounded good.”

McGinty was born in Scotland and played youth football for Celtic and Hibernian, before joining Sligo in 2016.

The youngster began in the Under 19 team but quickly progressed to the senior side, with his performances earning a call-up to the Republic of Ireland Under 21 squad in 2020.

McGinty signed off in style at Sligo, saving two penalties in last Thursday’s Europa Conference League shoot-out win over Bala Town.

And he is hungry for more success as United aim to mount another promotion push in Sky Bet League One.

He said: “From what I’ve heard, they’ve been close to getting promoted a few times and have been in and around it.

“I want to win so it suits me down to the ground, I don’t want to be at the bottom end, I want to be at the top end and hopefully get promoted.

“I’m leaving on a high with the European games, so it was emotional but once you get past all that, a decision has been made.

“I think there were other clubs – I just told my dad and my agent not to tell me anything – just tell me when there’s something you think’s right.

“I heard there was other stuff on the table but I didn’t really want to go there, I wanted to come here.”

McGinty joins senior goalkeepers Jack Stevens and Simon Eastwood at the club, while he is United’s third summer signing after defenders Ciaron Brown and Stuart Findlay.