At 21, the Dundee United academy graduate, made 13 appearances for the Scottish Club, before a loan deal with East Fife, and then signing with Brentford in 2017.
Speaking to WaterfordFC.ie after signing, Ali said he was delighted to have signed and that he was looking forward to getting started in the RSC.
“I’m delighted to be here. I’ve family connections to the city through my grandparents, so I know the place quite well.
“I’m really looking forward to getting into the training ground in the next few days and getting to properly meet all the lads. I’m lucky in that myself and Scott played together before, so it’s nice to walk into a club and know at least one face in the dressing room.
“I’ve come over with the hope of getting to play first-team football again, and that is something that really excites me. Obviously, when I left Dundee back in 2017, I dropped out of first-team football, so I’m delighted to be back at that level again.
“I’m hoping to be able to put on a show for the fans when I’m on the pitch and hopefully get results and hopefully drive us up the league table. The fans can expect a lot of creativity from me in the middle of the field.”
Also speaking after Ali’s signing, manager Alan Reynolds’ said he was ha[y to have finalised a deal with the young midfielder.
“Ali is a good lad, and he’s eager to prove himself at the first-team level again. Obviously he has experience playing first-team football with Dundee so he’ll have something about himself on the pitch.
“I’ve spoken with him a couple of times, and he’s bought into the plan we have for the season. We have a nice little squad coming together and I think Ali will fit nicely into the dressing room.
“We’ve been interested in securing Ali’s services for over the last 6 weeks so to finally get him over the line and onboard is a huge coup for us.
“He’s very hungry for a young player and he gained tremendous experience during his time at Dundee United before moving on to Brentford. He really wants to kick on with his career now and I’ve no doubt he’ll become a fan favourite quickly.
“We’ve got a couple more lads that we’re still working on getting over the line before we head to inchicore on the 14th of next month, so bare with us. “
