The 26-time capped Ireland defender won two League of Ireland titles in his first season with Rovers.
Stephen Bradley has hailed the return to Shamrock Rovers of Ireland defender Enda Stevens.
Bradley, who played with Stevens at Rovers under O’Neill, said: “We are absolutely delighted.
“Enda has been training with us for the last few weeks, he’s someone who’s had a brilliant career at a really high level. He will bring that know-how and quality to the group which is really important.
“We’ve always stayed in touch. I played with Enda also. Any time he’s been home from England, he has come in and been around the group, done bits of training with us and used the training ground.
“So we’ve always had that sort of relationship and when I knew Enda and his family wanted to move home, it was a natural progression to try and get him to Rovers.
“He’s been in training the last five or six weeks and we’re delighted to get it done.”
Stevens, who first joined Rovers from St Patrick’s Athletic, earned a move to Villa thanks to his eye-catching displays, particularly on their historic first ever run to the Europa League group stages in 2011.
He made his Villa debut against Manchester United and joined Portsmouth in 2015. After his move to Sheffield United, he made his senior Ireland debut in June 2018 against the USA.
After six years with the Blades, he moved to Stoke City in June 2023.
Bradley added: “When you look at the level Enda has played at throughout his career, he will be a really important player for us on the pitch, that’s the number one reason he’s here.
“But he can also help the likes of Cory O’Sullivan and Igor Vassenin and other young players in the club that play in a similar position. He’ll be able to help them develop and they can only learn from Enda which is a big positive.”
Meanwhile, Bradley is hopeful of wrapping up a new deal for star striker Rory Gaffney.
The 36-year-old was outstanding against Shakhtar Donetsk on Thursday, a couple of weeks after his FAI Cup final brace against Cork City.
“It’s like he is playing with a freedom he didn’t have last year,” said Bradley.
“Our full plans are for Rory to be here [next season]. We are really really far down the road in terms of negotiations. There were more talks this morning and I think we are just there for Rory. I’d imagine that will get done in the next day or two.
“It’s really important that he is here, not just for his performances but for everything. There’s a reason he’s playing at 36 and playing like that – because of how he lives his life.
“It’s really important that the young strikers can look at Rory and understand what it takes to have a career for a long period of time. That will only help their development. He is going to be really important for us next year in every way.”
And Jack Byrne is set to return to Tallaght Stadium from his loan spell in Dubai.
“I met Jack. We had a lunch last week and I brought him his league medal,” Bradley confirmed. “We had a good chat and a good discussion. I would expect Jack to be back with us in January.”
