The search for an elusive goalscorer is often the priority for clubs during transfer windows.
Centre-forwards are the most in-demand players in any league.
To find a striker who is available at a reasonable price is rare.
Fans of all clubs will often demand that the best possible option is bought.
However, supporters don’t understand that so much is out of the hands of their beloved side.
No more has that been the case than in the NIFL Premiership this January.
Some of the league’s top forwards have been on the move in the Northern Irish top flight.
The influence this has had on other clubs has been massive.
Sides have had to swiftly act to ensure they can add a proven goalscorer to their squad.
Record fees have been paid, and new talent has been welcomed into the league.
This article will highlight five moves of forwards in the NIFL Premiership that in some way are connected.
We will analyse why these deals happened, the quality of each attacker, and the potential impact they could have on their new side.
Joel Cooper To Coleraine FC
In December, it was announced that Joel Cooper had signed a pre-contract agreement with Coleraine.
In recent years, the North Coast side has been one of the traditional top six sides.
However, this year, they’ve been inconsistent.
The club has moved to a full-time model.
This transition hasn’t necessarily seen vast improvements on the pitch.
However, Cooper has been one of three players who Coleraine have already signed for the 2025/26 season.
Hope that new investment into the club will make them one of the league’s top sides.
In Cooper, they’ve signed a player who many will consider the league’s best player.
The 28-year-old has been in exquisite form for Linfield this season.
His contribution has been monumental at giving Linfield a healthy lead at the top of the Irish League.
Many are already crowning him as the player of the season, and for good reason.
Joel Cooper Radar Chart 2024/25
Currently, Cooper is sitting at the top of both the goals-scoring and assists charts.
The forward has 16 goals and 10 assists.
Cooper has played a variety of roles throughout his time at Linfield.
He has been used as a left winger mainly but has thrived this season, playing a more central role.
Cooper’s individual quality is clear for all to see.
He’s completed more dribbles than any player in the top flight this season.
He uses this ability to create many of his goals.
In this scenario, Cooper is out wide.
He drives by a challenging opponent to get himself into the box.
He then strikes the ball past the keeper from a tight angle.
Joel Cooper Shot Map 2024/25
When you look at Cooper’s shot map this season, his quality in front of goal is clear.
He’s outperformed his xG by 7.05 goals.
This highlights the huge number of incredible goals he’s scored.
Joel Cooper Shot Assist Map 2024/25
His creative ability also can’t be overlooked.
He’s averaged two shot assists, and 1.13 key passes per 90 this season.
His shot assist map also shows the range of areas he can create opportunities for his teammates.
Whether that’s out wide or in central areas, he has the tools to provide chances for his teammates.
Cooper is Coleraine’s marquee signing under the new regime and will be a pivotal player for them next season.
The former Oxford United attacker is still producing quality performances for his current side, Linfield.
Yet this imminent move has forced Lifield into action.
Kieran Offord To Linfield FC
As Cooper moves on, his goal contributions will need to be fulfilled.
Much of that responsibility will now fall on the shoulders of 20-year-old Kieran Offord.
The St. Mirren academy product spent an excellent first half of this season on loan at Crusaders.
He managed 10 goals in 21 league appearances before his parent club recalled Offord.
Many expected him to be given a chance in St Mirren’s first team.
However, a host of NIFL clubs fought to win the services of the Scottish Youth International on a permanent basis.
Glentoran appeared to be leading the race.
However, it was their great rival Linfield who secured the signing of Offord for £125,000.
Kieran Offord Radar Chart 2024/25
Many of Offord’s qualities are similar to those of Joel Cooper.
One of these is his ability to dribble by players.
He ranks third for dribbles completed by forwards in NIFL this season.
Kieran Offord Penetrating Carries 2024/25
Offord’s ability to get into dangerous positions is evident from the number of penetrating carries that have led to him arriving in the area.
When he’s in these promising positions he’s clinical in front of goal.
Kieran Offord Shots Map 2024/25
Offord’s shot map shows his quality in front of goal.
He’s slightly outperformed his xG total by 1.66.
He also ranks above the league average for conversion rate, again highlighting his ability to be clinical.
In this situation, Offord has used his pace to get in behind the opposition.
Once he’s 1v1 with the goalkeeper, he coolly slots the ball into the bottom corner.
Offord is far from the perfect Cooper replacement.
He has managed two assists this season and has a percentile rank of 74 for key passes when compared with NIFL forwards.
However, his creative output doesn’t match Cooper’s quality.
Nonetheless, being at the beginning of his career, Linfield will hope he develops further.
His contributions, along with the rest of Linfield’s attackers, will be vital in the task to replace Cooper.
The sweetness of beating rivals Glentoran in the signing of Offord will also please The Blues’ supporters.
This left Glentoran needing to dive into the market and explore other options.
Nathaniel Ferris To Glentoran FC
Glentoran FC had been linked with several forwards in the window.
They have eventually signed target man Nathaniel Ferris.
The 26-year-old made the move from Loughgall after impressing for the Mid-Ulster side since their promotion to the top flight in 2023.
Nathaniel Ferris Radar Chart 2024/25
Ferris provides something different than Offord would have.
Ferris brings with him an aerial threat and has the ability to hold up the ball.
He ranks 6th highest for aerial duels won by forwards.
This quality makes him a handful for opposition centre-backs.
Here, we see Ferris challenging for the ball in the penalty box.
He makes first contact and knocks the ball down into the path of a teammate who’s able to guide the ball into the back of the net.
Ferris also provides a goal-scoring threat himself.
Last season, he netted 15 league goals and had an impressive conversion rate of 27%.
This season, he’s managed six goals in a struggling side.
Ferris, fitting for his profile, can score headers.
Yet, there’s more to his ability than being a threat in the air.
In this situation, Ferris is outside the penalty area.
After working a bit of space, he fires the ball from range past the goalkeeper.
Glentoran have made an astute signing.
The East Belfast side have players who are a similar profile to Offord.
Ferris will provide something different.
However, even his move was influenced by more than just Glentoran missing out on Offord.
Tieran O’Connor To Larne FC
22-year-old Tiernan O’Connor has been making waves over the past couple of seasons.
The Derry native had made a move in 2021 to Chesterfield.
Failing to break into their first team, he returned home after just one season.
After spending a season in the amateur fourth tier of Northern Irish football, he made the step up to the NIFL Championship in 2023.
Signing for Belfast club Harland and Wolf Welders, his performances over the past two seasons have earned him many admirers.
Glentoran were rumored again to be the front runners.
However, reigning champions Larne managed to lure him to Imver Park.
The step up from the NIFL Championship is massive.
However, Larne will have seen O’Connor’s vast qualities.
Evidently, he’s a goalscorer.
In 25 appearances this season, he’s scored 17 goals.
The previous season, he had an impressive return of 14 goals in 28 games.
O’Connor is already making a difference to his new side.
Making his debut in the Shane’s Hill derby against Ballymena, he assisted and won the Man of the Match award.
O’Connor has had a decent creative return over the past couple of seasons.
He had six assists to his name across all competitions since the beginning of the 2023/24 season.
In the image above, O’Connor has his back to goal.
He backheels the ball through the legs of the opposition’s centre-back.
This puts his teammate through on goal, who eventually scores.
O’Connor is an incredibly powerful forward who matches this with skill.
He demonstrated this on his debut through completing six dribbles.
In this situation, O’Connor has limited space.
He dribbles easily past a challenging opponent before delivering an excellent ball into the box.
O’Connor will now look to cement his place in the top division.
His arrival was another piece in the transfer merry-go-round.
Benji Magee To Loughgall FC
O’Connor moving to Larne was another encouragement for Glentoran to sign Ferris.
It opened the door for Loughgall FC to make a move no one would have predicted at the start of the season.
Benji Magee was last season’s surprise package.
The relatively unknown forward had failed to cement himself in the lower divisions of Irish League football before moving to Loughgall.
Yet, Magee had the season of his life during his first season of Premiership football.
The 22-year-old went on to win the league’s Young Player of the Season.
He managed an impressive 16 goals in 36 appearances.
After helping Larne secure a place in the Conference League, he appeared to be on track to become a regular contributor to their continued success.
Disappointingly, that hasn’t happened so far for Magee.
O’Connor’s arrival has seen Larne loan Magee back to his former side.
Benji Magee Radar Chart 2023/24
Magee showed he had many qualities to terrify defenders last season.
He completed the fifth most dribbles in the League, demonstrating his ability to dribble by players.
Here, Magee drives into the box.
He goes by the last defender with ease before passing the ball into the back of the net.
This was just one of many excellent goals Magee scored last year.
He had a conversion rate of 25% last season.
However, when you take a further look at his goal-scoring statistics, it’s clear why he’s failed to reach the same heights this year.
Benji Magee Shot Map Comparison
Magee outperformed his xG by almost nine goals.
This does show, similar to Cooper, that he’s scored some incredible goals.
Yet, for an unproven player, it gives reason to be sceptical about the potential to sustain this.
This season, Magee has outperformed his xG by just 0.69.
This is a more sustainable difference.
There’s a variety of factors that may have also influenced Magee’s first few months at his new club.
The transition from part-time to full-time football is always tricky to navigate.
Failing to get a consistent run on the side has also limited his chances of showing his quality.
Magee has only started 20% of Larne’s games in the Irish League.
A loan move to Loughgall paired with full-time training at Larne will help him to regain his form.
Conclusion
The excitement of the transfer window always catches the imagination of supporters.
This window in Northern Ireland has seen an incredible amount of movement.
All five players analysed appear to be great pieces of business by their clubs.
Eyes will be fixed to see which side truly got the best deal.
