By:
Mark Hendry
Neil Farrugia has explained why he had to leave Barnsley when Dundee United offered him a move.
The Irish winger, 26, has found game time hard to come by at Oakwell this season.
In fact, Farrugia has struggled to nail down a starting spot since he arrived in 2025.
Countryman Jim Goodwin moved quickly to snap up the former Shamrock Rovers attacker when he became available.
And early on Thursday the playmaker was unveiled as the Arabs’ first January signing of the window.
United sit seventh in the Scottish Premiership and Goodwin views the playmaker as a strong attacking option.
The boss hopes his new Dundee United signing Farrugia can make an impact and help catapult the Tangerines up the division.
Neil Farrugia reveals why he had to sign for Dundee United
And Farrugia has the same hopes for the final six months of the campaign.
Speaking on why he made the switch to Tannadice, Farrugia said: “The manager told me he’d been trying to sign me for a while, which is always nice because it shows he sees your value.
“I was aware of Dundee United’s interest before Barnsley but at the time that seemed a good fit.”
On his Barnsley exit, he added: “When I first joined Barnsley I struggled a bit.
“I’d done the whole season in the League of Ireland, which is right through summer.
“Then played in the European games as well.
“I’d already played 40 games so picked up some injuries and wasn’t really fit for the start of my career there.
“It’s tough going from playing a whole season in Ireland into playing another one.
“After that I didn’t feel I got the games I should have.
“So when the chance to come here came up it was something I wanted to do.
“I don’t believe in having regrets in football but I probably lost a bit of enjoyment on the pitch there.
“So the goal is to get that back here and a change of environment will help.
“When I enjoy football I play pretty well.”
Farrugia wants to emulate Celtic’s Irish stars
Plenty of Irish players currently ply their trade in Scottish football.
And Farrugia is the latest in a long line.
That includes Celtic stars Liam Scales and the struggling Johnny Kenny who is also hoping to turn things around under Martin O’Neill at Parkhead.
It’s not the Hoops that concerns Farrugia, though.
No, he wants to emulate the aforementioned pair in Dundee.
And get his career back on track.
“Irish players do have a history of doing well in Scottish football,” he added.
“I played with Scales and Kenny at Shamrock.
“I’ve seen them go from the League of Ireland and end up playing for Celtic.
“It goes to show that with a bit of game time and confidence, you never know.”
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