Nottingham Forest set to sign Shamrock Rovers teenager Michael Noonan in January | OneFootball

Premier League side Nottingham Forest are set to sign Shamrock Rovers striker Michael Noonan in January, bolstering their academy-focused recruitment.

According to NY Times, the 18-year-old Republic of Ireland Under-21 forward is earmarked for Forest’s academy and B team.

Noonan has scored seven goals for Rovers this season from 17 starts and 11 appearances off the bench.

In February 2025, at 16 years and 197 days, he became the youngest scorer in the Conference League’s history and the second youngest in any UEFA club competition, hitting the winner in a 1-0 first-leg victory at Molde’s Aker Stadion on his senior debut.

Ajax and Benfica have tracked him, and he was close to joining Hoffenheim last January.

Noonan is out of contract at the end of the Irish League season. Forest will still need to pay training compensation, and he is expected to undergo a medical on Wednesday.

He also featured in both legs as Rovers exited the Conference League to Finnish side KuPS Kuopio in August.

Forest believe his arrival marks progress in youth recruitment and hope to keep attracting similar talents while maintaining their long-running streak of naming an academy product in every first team match day squad since at least October 1942.

Source: NY Times

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”