WELCOME BACK SON!: Ronnie Moore (right) welcomes son Ian back to Prenton Park
STRIKER Ian Moore - son of Tranmere Rovers manager Ronnie - has rejoined the Prenton Park club.
Ian, who rose through the youth ranks at Tranmere to establish himself in the first team and gain England Under-21 caps before a £1 million transfer to Nottingham Forest in 1997, has been snapped up from Hartlepool United for an undisclosed fee.
Moore, 31, has scored nine times for Hartlepool this season and his father believes he will add pace and experience to the Rovers attack.
He has signed a contract until summer 2009.
Ian began his career at Prenton Park in 1994, rising through the ranks before former Prenton Park boss John King gave him his first team chance. Moore's dad was King's No 2 at the time.
After being sold to Forest, where he played in the Premier League, Ian then moved to Stockport County for £800,000 in 1998, and Burnley for £1 million in 2000.
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He spent five seasons at Burnley before signing for Leeds United and then joined Hartlepool last summer.
He has made more than 450 career appearances, scoring over 100 goals.
Ironically, Ian's first re-appearance in a Tranmere shirt is likely to be on Saturday at Elland Road against one of his former clubs - Leeds United.
He joins strikers Chris Greenacre, Calvin Zola and Craig Curran in the Tranmere squad.
Ian was one of four players made available by Hartlepool for immediate transfer during the January transfer window, which closed at midnight last night.
A Hartlepool club spokesman said: "Ian was finding the travelling a little too much and with a young family back in Warrington it has been more difficult than he expected it to be, so he was looking to move on."
It is understood that fellow Coca-Cola League One club Oldham Athletic were also interested in signing Ian Moore, but the player preferred to return to where his career began.
Meanwhile, Rovers striker Gareth Taylor has joined Doncaster Rovers on a free transfer.
Gareth joined Tranmere in summer 2006 and scored 13 goals in 69 appearances.
Manager Moore said of his son's return: "I'm delighted to bring Ian back to the club and look forward to seeing him in a Tranmere shirt.
"He will add speed to our attack and will get behind defenders. He has a good scoring record and hopefully will soon be among the goals again for Tranmere.
"He already has nine goals this season so there should be some good competition among our strikers to see who finishes the season with the most."
He added: "Gareth Taylor has done well for me at Tranmere but the progress of Calvin Zola meant his first team opportunities may have been limited.
"Doncaster Rovers expressed an interest in him and it was only fair to allow him the chance to move on. I'd like to thank him for everything he did for Tranmere and wish him luck in the rest of his career."
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