Manchester City-linked Shamrock Rovers teenager Michael Noonan has become the Conference League's youngest-ever goalscorer, thanks to his strike away to Molde this evening.
Noonan, who was making his debut for Rovers, and his first ever start in senior football, netted the only goal of the evening at the Aker Stadion in the first leg of their knockout playoff first leg.
Aged 16 and seven months, Noonan now holds the record for the youngest-ever scorer in the albeit brief history of UEFA's third-tier competition, but many clubs will sit up and take notice of his accomplishment tonight.
Born in July 2008, Noonan does not turn 17 until the summer, and is yet to sign a professional contract, given his tender age.
Noonan makes history in shock Shamrock success
Noonan joined Shamrock in a move that will eventually rise to €180,000 (£150,000) in mid-January, with a view of moving across to English football if he continues to fulfil his potential by the age of 18.
Fabrizio Romano reported back in October that Man City were keeping tabs on Noonan, but the English champions will most likely wait until the summer of 2026 before making a move for the young Irishman.
© Imago
The Irish Independent claim that there is no release clause in Noonan's contract, but it does only run until that summer of 2026, leaving Shamrock vulnerable of receiving only compensation money from any suitors in England or afar.
Shamrock will get their League of Ireland campaign off and running at the weekend when they travel to Bohemians, where manager Stephen Bradley could keep Noonan in reserve ahead of the return leg against Molde next week.
The story of Noonan so far:
In an astonishingly quick rise, prior to tonight, Noonan had only played two minutes for St Patrick's away to Bohemians back in October in his senior career, just before the end of the League of Ireland campaign.
Noonan has been showing plenty of promise, though, especially given the fee that Shamrock are set to pay out for the young attacker, but they will most likely make that back and more when he opts to move on.
Already an Ireland youth international, Noonan has played an important role in the Under-17s side's recent fixtures, scoring in three successive matches against Lithuania, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
That was enough to advance Ireland to the final stage of Euro Under-17 qualifying, which takes place next month, but Noonan may already be in contention for higher age groups, following his first senior goal this evening.
Andrew Delaney
