Francely Lomboto says it was a ‘no-brainer’ to join Sligo Rovers

The 24-year-old, who can operate on the left-wing or up front, joins from Galway United where he played having come through the club's underage academy.

Lomboto started his football career with Galway Hibs, before he went on to join Galway United, enjoying four years with the first team before moving across to the Bit O'Red.

It's a return to Sligo for Lomboto who spent a year studying Business at IT Sligo in 2018-2019, before returning to Galway.

His younger brother, Gradi, also plays for Galway and scored against Rovers' Under 20s when they met earlier this year.

Having heard former Rovers players speaking about Sligo Rovers and The Showgrounds at training, Lomboto was keen to try it for himself once the contact came.

"From playing against them and watching them, I enjoyed the way they played, the style of play and speaking to John about how he wants to play and the idea, I think I'll suit the system. It was a no brainer.

"A few of the lads would speak about the difference in training, what it was like to play here, how much they enjoyed it, they all said they loved Sligo.

"I know the town already so it's easy for me to settle here."

The attacker believes there are parts of his game he needs to work on, and Russell believes that the willingness to learn and improve makes his signature an exciting one.

The Galway man, Russell says, is extremely motivated and keen to prove himself here at Sligo Rovers.

"I'd like to get into pre-season and meet all the lads, take it day-by-day, work hard and then I think the quality will show then.

"There's a lot of things I need to work on, John has outlined the things I need to work on and I'm ready to work on these things," Lomboto added.

And Russell believes that the style of play he has implemented at Rovers will suit Lomboto who can play anywhere across the front three.

"He has really good attributes that I like. He's so fast and really strong. I feel we can improve him as a player, our style of play will suit him. I think there's potential to turn him into a really good centre-forward. I know he's played a lot on the left-wing and he can play across the front three.

"I feel we can develop him. You're always looking for centre-forwards in the league. You look around the league this year, 14 goals is the highest that a centre-forward scored which is really low for me.

"I just look at Francely and think if he comes into our environment, works with us day-to-day and we can supply him, I feel he has the attributes to go and score goals. It's exciting.

"He knows the league well. He's very motivated from our conversations with him, I think he's a player who knows what he wants, will work extremely hard and sees this as a rally good platform for him.

"When you have a tight squad you need players that can play in numerous positions. Ultimately, it can change games when they have that versatility so even if Francely might be playing up front and he's not getting chances or he hasn't scored, we still need to win the game and bring another centre-forward on, you can still keep him on the pitch and put him on the wing. That's a good stength for him and other players in the squad."

Lomboto started just two games for Galway in the Premier Division last year, and came off the bench in 20 games. He scored once for Galway in the 2020 season.

But, Russell believes the league hasn't seen the best of the 24-year-old, who scored six goals in the First Division in 2023.

"Francely is coming to us at 24, has a lot of games under his belt, he's at a stage now where he understands his body, he knows where his strengths are but knows that there's more in him. At this stage of his career, with some of the younger lads, I think he'll thrive off playing with them and they'll thrive off playing with him.

"You want to get players in as quick as you can. But, you have to be patient and get the right players in, they have to be the right person as well. I spoke to Francely as well, he's a really good kid, he's motivated, he's driven, he's coming for the right reasons as well as having the talent.

"People probably haven't seen the best of him yet. I feel that we will bring out the best in him. It will be up to him to perform, once you cross the white line you're judged. It's exciting to know he's in the building. He'll meet Tom French and the other staff and he'll be ready to go in the off-season."

And having had great joy from signing players in 2024 who were out to prove themselves, Russell believes that this type of player is one that really works at Sligo Rovers.

"Another learning for me as manager is that you want hungry players, players that want to improve themselves and they want to prove to people that maybe they weren't playing them enough or playing them in the right position.

"That's down to scouting and recruitment and spotting players and thinking 'if I can take him out of another environment and get him into ours, can we make him better?'.

"We have a good track record now of improving players, selling players, bringing players to play a certain brand of football. Francely is a brilliant prospect, players can improve at all any age. He's got the willingness to improve and learn."

Lomoboto is the eleventh player to commit to the Showgrounds for 2025. He joins Ollie Denham, Conor Reynolds, Kyle McDonagh, Gareth McElroy, Daire Patton,, Connor Malley, Stephen Mallon, Owen Elding, Kailin Barlow and Wilson Waweru as part of next year's first team squad.