Declan O'Brien is thrilled by the prospect of helping Valletta reclaim the Premier League title after sealing his switch to the Citizens on Wednesday.

Signed as a replacement for Geert den Ouden, O'Brien caught the eye of Valletta coach Ton Caanen and club president Victor Sciriha after netting the two goals that enabled Irish side St Patrick's to knock the Citizens out of the Europa League in summer.

"I'm delighted to be here," O'Brien said. "When I spoke to Victor (Sciriha), he really sold the club to me. He made up my mind to join Valletta after explaining the size of the club and their expectations.

"Now that I've come here, I want to show the people of Valletta that I'm a good player, that I can score goals and hopefully I'll win trophies with the team."

The 29-year-old forward, who has come through the ranks of Drogheda United, was impressed by Valletta's showings in the Europa League.

O'Brien said: "Valletta can pass the ball and even at our place in Dublin, they tried to play good football... they dominated the second half.

"People (in Ireland) didn't know much about Maltese football but I was impressed with what I saw."

O'Brien was a free agent after seeing out his loan deal with St Pats who finished sixth in the Premier League of Ireland. St Patrick's were prepared to offer a new deal to O'Brien who was also approached by a couple of English clubs.

"Oldham and Burton were interested but then Victor called," he said. "I had a chat with my wife and we decided to go for a new challenge in a new country."

Floriana were also on O'Brien's trail. Roddy Collins, the Greens' Irish manager, made a second attempt to sign O'Brien after losing out to St Patrick's in the summer, but his hopes were scuppered by Valletta.

"Roddy is a friend of mine," O'Brien said.

"He's a great fellow, a top man. He has been tracking me for a while but I'm going to play for Valletta now. I like Roddy and I hope he does well as long as he doesn't do better than Valletta."