Alan Browne looks to stake his claim in Republic of Ireland squad

Alan Browne has come into the current Irish squad on the back of a tremendous personal season yet one which still ended in disappointment for promotion hopefuls Preston.

But that his team just narrowly missed out on a place in the Championship play-offs was hardly the fault of the Cork-born 23-year-old, whose consistently impressive performances have seen him claim a hat-trick of end of term awards at Deepdale: Player of the Season, Players’ Player of the Season, and Goal of the Season. The latter was an audacious first-time strike from the centre-circle against Cardiff City back in September.

With two years to go on a deal he signed last year, the man from Mahon feels so settled at the club he joined from Cork City four years ago, that he can admit to being that rare thing: a professional footballer who doesn’t have an agent.