Mick McDermott has played down speculation linking Glentoran with a move for former Linfield star Joel Cooper who is returning to Northern Ireland after opting to leave Oxford United.
Cooper, who will be a free agent in the summer, joined the League One club on a three-year deal in 2020 but struggled to settle for personal reasons and has left the Us by mutual consent.
The 26-year-old, who was voted Northern Ireland Footballer of the Year prior to his move to England two years ago, scored twice in just 12 appearances for Oxford.
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Glentoran and Larne have both been linked with the pacy winger on social media, but McDermott insists the rumours are “news” to him.
“The Joel Cooper one is news to me,” he said. “I think these things start on social media and spread like wildfire.
“I’m sure there will be more rumours over the coming days and weeks because it’s the off-season and players become available or players want to move clubs.
“Look, I take all of the rumours with a pinch of salt because if we believed every single one of them, we’d drive ourselves crazy.”
Cooper moved to Port Vale in January, where he made six appearances, but didn’t feature for the League Two club beyond the end of March.
His last appearance for Oxford was a three minute cameo as a late substitute in a scoreless draw with Rotherham on November 27.
After his departure was made public on Monday, Cooper said: “I want to thank the gaffer and the staff at Oxford and the fans for their support and hopefully their understanding.
"I was very proud to play for the club and it’s a shame it wasn’t more times, but I hopefully leave on good terms and wish the club all the best for next season.”
Oxford manager Karl Robinson said: “Joel has great ability but hasn’t been able to settle here.
"We talked it through and there are things back home he needs to deal with so we agreed he can leave. He does so with our thanks and very best wishes for the future.”
Cooper spent the second half of the 2020/21 campaign on loan at Linfield and helped his former club win the league and Irish Cup double.
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