Exeter City Football Club is delighted to announce the signing of Irish midfielder Jake Doyle-Hayes from League of Ireland side Sligo Rovers for an undisclosed fee, subject to EFL and international clearance.

The 26-year-old joins as the club’s 1931 Fund player – part funded by supporters – and brings with him a career that spans England, Scotland and Ireland. 

A product of the Aston Villa academy, having made his first team debut for the Villains in 2017, Doyle-Hayes made 42 appearances over two loan spells with Cheltenham Town and Cambridge United in League Two between 2018 and 2020. 

Doyle-Hayes moved to Scotland at the end of 2020 to St Mirren, making 30 appearances before the end of the 2020/21 season, before he earned a move to Hibernian that summer.  

He signed a two year contract with the Edinburgh club and further extended that deal for another year six months later after a successful first half of the 2021/22 campaign. He made a total of 69 appearances for the club over four seasons before he departed for Sligo in February of this year on a short term contract. 

Manager Gary Caldwell said: “Jake is a player I worked with at Hibs who is a technically good midfield player as a six or an eight. 

“He had huge potential as a youngster and having worked with him, and knowing his character, it is a signing that feels a little easier. He is a really good player and will add lots of competition into the midfield.”