Rory Finneran
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rory James Finneran[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 29 February 2008 | ||
| Place of birth | Manchester, England | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Newcastle United | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2024 | Blackburn Rovers | ||
| 2024– | Newcastle United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2024 | Blackburn Rovers | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2022–2023 | Republic of Ireland U15 | 13 | (0) |
| 2023–2025 | Republic of Ireland U17 | 29 | (1) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 10:26, 17 February 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 16:49, 18 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Rory James Finneran (born 29 February 2008) is an Irish footballer who plays for Newcastle United. In January 2024, he became Blackburn Rovers' youngest ever player, debuting in the FA Cup third round against Cambridge United.
Early life
[edit | edit source]Rory attended St Ambrose College.[3]
Career
[edit | edit source]Blackburn Rovers
[edit | edit source]Described as a left-footed defensive midfield player, Finneran joined the Blackburn Rovers academy at eight years-old.[4]
Finneran was named among the match day squad for Blackburn in the EFL Championship against Bristol City in December 2023 but was an unused substitute.[5] He made his senior debut for Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup against Cambridge United on 6 January 2024.[6] At 15 years-old, ten months and eight days, he became Blackburn's youngest ever debutant.[7] However, he was not allowed to wear a kit with the main Blackburn shirt sponsor, an electronic cigarette manufacturer, due to his young age.[8]
Newcastle United
[edit | edit source]Finneran will join Newcastle United academy, a tribunal will be required to determine the compensation fee owed to Blackburn Rovers for young midfielder.[9][10][11]
International career
[edit | edit source]A Republic of Ireland youth international, he first played for Ireland U15 against Cyprus U15 in 2022. He went on to play for Ireland at U16 and U17 levels, making his competitive debut in a 4-0 Euro U17 qualifying win over Armenia U17 in October 2023.[12] He captained Ireland for the first time in a 3–1 victory over Australia U16s at the start of 2023. Finneran was named the Republic of Ireland's under-15 player of the year in 2023.[13] Finneran was named in the squad for the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar in November 2025.[14]
Career statistics
[edit | edit source]- As of match played on 21 January 2025[15]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup[a] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Blackburn Rovers | 2023–24[15] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Newcastle United U21 | 2024–25[15] | – | 1 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Career total | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
- ^ Includes EFL Cup & National League Cup
References
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- ^ https://www.fai.ie/latest/ireland-squad-named-fifa-under-17-world-cup/
- ^ a b c Rory Finneran at SoccerwayLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
External links
[edit | edit source]- Rory Finneran at SoccerbaseLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Lua error in Module:Authority_control at line 153: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- 2008 births
- Living people
- Footballers from Manchester
- Republic of Ireland men's association footballers
- Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers
- English men's footballers
- English people of Irish descent
- Men's association football midfielders
- Blackburn Rovers F.C. players
- 21st-century Irish sportsmen
- 21st-century English sportsmen
- People educated at St. Ambrose College