Official! Forest beat Benfica to striker wanted by Marco Silva | OneFootball

It’s official. Nottingham Forest have secured one of the young prospects who had been attracting interest from several European clubs. Michael Noonan, an 18-year-old Irish forward, will leave Shamrock Rovers in January to join the English club, after the Tricky Trees managed to convince the player.

According to the English press, Benfica were among the clubs keeping a close eye on the youngster’s progress, in a race that also involved Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Everton and Ajax. The player ultimately chose Oliver Glasner’s project.

The move will only happen in January and, initially, the forward will be integrated into the club’s youth teams. Despite his age, he is a player who has already built up considerable experience in Irish football and in his country’s youth national teams, having represented the U15, U16, U17, U19 and U21 sides.

Noonan joined Shamrock Rovers in January 2025 and quickly began to make his mark. Since then, he has made 58 appearances and scored 13 goals for the club, numbers that helped put him on the radar of several bigger clubs in European football.

The forward has already written his name into UEFA competition history as well. At 16 years and 197 days old, he scored against Malmp, becoming the youngest player ever to score in the Conference League. Now, he is preparing to make the move to England. Gilberto Mora is also on the Eagles’ radar.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.