Nottingham Forest confirm Michael Noonan deal as academy’s long-term vision outlined | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest have secured highly rated striker Michael Noonan, with George Syrianos setting out the club’s long-term academy vision. The club said in a statement that Noonan has signed a pre-agreement, will join on the first of January, and will start with the academy.

Forest have beaten fierce competition to land the 18-year-old from Shamrock Rovers. Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Everton had been linked, with Ajax and Benfica also monitoring.

Syrianos described the recruitment of high-potential youngsters as central to the plan, aimed at creating a genuine route to the first team. He credited Chris McGuane and Andy Reid, among others, for mapping out that pathway and helping to convince Noonan.

Noonan began his senior career at St Patrick’s Athletic before moving to Shamrock Rovers in January 2025. He scored the only goal on debut the following month against Molde in a UEFA Conference League play-off first leg, aged 16 years and 197 days, the competition’s youngest goalscorer. He was also thought to be the second youngest scorer in UEFA main club competition.

He has represented Republic of Ireland at various youth levels and impressed at last year’s Under-17 World Cup. In September he became the youngest ever scorer for Republic of Ireland Under-21s, netting the winner from the bench in a European Championship qualifier.

The teenager has been a key figure for Shamrock Rovers this season with eight goals. He featured in five European games this summer across Champions League and Conference League qualifiers.

Source: Nottingham Post

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