Damien Duff to sign multi-year contract with Shelbourne as ownership tensions resolved

The prospect of Damien Duff quitting Shelbourne amid friction with new ownership was the catalyst for the Irish directors retaking control of the club from Acun Ilicali.

The Hull City owner – known as the Turkish Simon Cowell – agreed a deal in June to buy a 60% controlling stake in the League of Ireland club at an initial cost of €3m.

Ireland legend Duff last Friday guided the Reds to a fourth-placed finish, the club’s highest in the Premier Division since winning the league in 2006, but cast doubt over his future.

That related to deadlock on his own contract renewal but also the clutch of out-of-contract players he wanted to tie down on extensions for a 2024 season that’ll include European football if St Patrick’s Athletic beat Bohemians in Sunday’s FAI Cup final.

All had appeared so harmonious between Duff and Ilicali in the summer as he praised the Turk’s executive for proactivity nailing down the future of goalkeeper Conor Kearns on fresh terms.

Still, the two-time Premier League winner was always wary of undue influence and he was unhappy with aspects of the arrangement being proposed.

The notion of recruitment decisions being expanded outside of his preserve was an anathema to a person of his principle, souring the relationship in recent months. He was content to take Harry Weir and Will Jarvis on loan from Hull City but wouldn’t be pressurised into having players foisted upon him.

“I’ll be in the Riverside Stand or on the bench next season,” Duff said on Friday.

“We’ve had five or six months to sort my future out and it hasn’t.

“Shels is a proper club, with the heart and soul back in it, and hopefully we’ll continue to grow. I want to be here but it’s not a night to talk about it because we’ve had all season to