Cork City teen Cathal Heffernan linked with move to Bundesliga giants

Cathal Heffernan during the UEFA U17 Championship qualifiers in Cork last year. Picture: Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile

German giants Bayer Leverkusen are being linked with Cork City teenager Cathal Heffernan.

This follows a social media post by the player’s management team, Sire 7, which showed the defender wearing the German club’s kit with the caption ‘soon’.

They also post a picture of the defender looking at Bayer Leverkusen club memorabilia.

The teenager could become the second Irish player to move to the continent this week, following James Abankwah joining Udinese from St Patrick’s Athletic on Wednesday.

Travelling to the continent will be nothing new to Heffernan, as he trained with Juventus, Roma, Atalanta and AC Milan last year.

Cathal Heffernan has been linked with a move to Germany.

This came at the start of a breakthrough year for the Cork City player, who signed his first senior contract last June.

He also impressed last year with the Republic of Ireland U17s, and was part of the squad that finished top of its European Championship qualification series. He also lifted the EA Sports U17 Mark Farren Cup at Turner’s Cross last November following City’s 2-1 victory over Galway United.

Should the defender move to Germany, it will be another signing in keeping with a new pattern for post-Brexit Irish football. 

Ever since the United Kingdom left the European Union, rules on overseas recruitment have changed. The new rules mean that Irish boys under 18 can no longer sign for English clubs.