Carlisle United seal signing of Dundalk's Archie Davies

After a period of speculation about the 25-year-old, the Blues confirmed the move for Davies on a two-year deal.

Carlisle have paid an undisclosed fee to League of Ireland club Dundalk for his services.

He will compete for the right wing-back slot in Simpson's side in the 2024/25 season.

It was a key position for the Cumbrians to fill, and Davies now offers a new option on the right along with Jack Ellis.

Simpson said Davies' arrival brings "weeks" of work on the deal to a head.

"We've done a lot of background work on him and he's a player who is highly sought-after in that area of the pitch," said United's manager.

"There were a lot of clubs after him so I'm delighted he's chosen to come to us."

Simpson said United had done plenty of background work on former Brighton & Hove Albion, Crawley Town and Aldershot Town man Davies.

"Greg [Abbott, head of recruitment] has been over a few times to watch him and we've had videos and data from him," added Simpson on the Blues' website.

"We've spoken to people about him and done our background work. 

Davies, back row second left, with the Dundalk side (Image: PA)

"The challenge for Archie now is to transfer what he's done over in Ireland back into the EFL. We think it's a step up, but from what we've seen we think he's more than capable of holding his own."

Simpson said United had "done things properly with Dundalk and been straight with them all the way through," over the transfer.

"Greg has had conversations with the owner and the chief executive and I've had a conversation with Jon Daly the manager," added Simpson.

"They were in a bit of a tricky position because Archie's contract was up at the end of their season in November and he wanted to try and test himself back in England.

"If we'd waited another month we maybe could have signed him on a pre-contract and got him for nothing in January, but we didn't feel it was fair to do it that way. 

"We've spoken to the club and managed to agree a deal for him so we can take him straight away. Dundalk have been fantastic with the way they've dealt with it even though they were really reluctant to sell him. 

"The bonus for us is that he's coming in fully fit because he's already played 22 games this season. We're going to have to manage him over the season as much as we can so he doesn't end up having an 80-game season and we wear him out. 

"That's why I want to try and have two players for each position. We've got Jack Ellis who has done a really good job when he's been available, and Ben Barclay can slot into there if we need him to as well." 

Davies follows previous summer arrivals Aaron Hayden, Jude Smith, Cameron Harper, Terell Thomas, Ethan Robson and Charlie Wyke through the door so far this summer.

Simpson, whose side face Kendal Town in their second pre-season friendly tonight, is next expected to turn his attention to the attacking/creative side of the team.

Davies was a youth player with Crystal Palace before moving to Brighton, eventually earning a professional deal with the Sussex club.

He had a loan spell at Whitehawk whilst played for his parent club's Under-21s in the EFL Trophy, before making his first-team Brighton debut against Aston Villa in the League Cup in 2019.

Two years at Crawley followed before a spell at Aldershot, Davies then moving to Ireland with Dundalk in January 2023.

Davies was named fans' player of the year in his first season with Dundalk in the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division, while he was also named in the PFAI Premier Division Team of the Year, amid a 63-game spell for the club.