Teenage Newcastle United star in the making Rory Finneran made headlines at the weekend.
The young midfielder making his first senior international appearance at the age of only 18.
Rory Finneran coming off the bench when the Republic or Ireland were 3-0 up, the NUFC player helping them to an eventual 5-0 victory over Grenada.
The teenager telling official Newcastle United media: “It’s a great achievement for me and my family but I think it makes you want to get more of it and work even harder to get more. It doesn’t feel real to be honest. I got told I’d be coming on and then I was on the pitch. I don’t know how to explain it – it all felt a bit surreal in the moment but I really enjoyed the experience. Most of my family got over, my close family and a few other family members, to watch me. It was a big moment for them, too..doing it at 18 years old makes it even better but, after getting a taste of that, you want more of it.”
Rory Finneran only turned 18 in February and has been a key player for the Newcastle United Under 21s this season who finished third in the league, only Man City and Man U above them.
The midfielder reflecting on the past nine months: “This season has been a great experience. I’ve played a lot of games in different competitions and that was one of the main things I wanted to achieve. I think I’ve improved a lot during the season, doing what I set out to do with the under-21s.”
Against serious competition from countless clubs Rory Finneran signed for Newcastle United from Blackburn Rovers in 2024.
As well as a great season with the United Under 21s, the teenager has also been training with the Newcastle first team squad to help accelerate his progression.
Rory Finneran telling NUFC official media: “There’s a lot of great players in the first-team to look up to. Whenever you’re training with them, you see the top level they’re at and it shows you what you’ve got to do but also, subconsciously, learning as much as you can when you’re playing with or against them. Being in and around that has been a massive help for my career because they’re top players. The most important thing is making sure I continue to develop and then, eventually, playing first-team football whether that is with Newcastle or going out on loan. Hopefully, that’s the next step for me.”
Great to see young players making dynamic progress with Newcastle United and in near future we could see the likes of Sean Neave, Park Seung-soo and Leo Shahar pushing for first team minutes. Whilst a host of others such as Rory Finneran and Sam Alabi coming through behind them.