Cathal Heffernan seals AC Milan loan move - with chance for permanent deal

Cathal Heffernan with his family after signing for AC Milan. Picture via @RM_Heffernan

Ireland U17 captain Cathal Heffernan will have five months to upgrade his loan from Cork City to AC Milan into a permanent contract.

The Rossoneri thrashed out a deal with City over the weekend to pay a loan fee and claim first refusal should they decide to keep the centre-back for next season.

Milan were one of a number of top European clubs, including Roma, Juventus, and Bayer Leverkusen, that the strapping defender spent time on trial at in recent months.

The auditions were arranged by his representative, fellow Leesider Stephen Ireland, who heads up the Sire7 agency, which has also recruited Heffernan’s City and international team-mate, Mark O’Mahony.

Restrictions triggered by Brexit means UK clubs cannot recruit Irish players until they are 18, sparking interest from continental clubs in the home-based market.

Last year, Inter Milan swooped for Heffernan’s Ireland U17 colleague Kevin Zefi, while only last week another Serie A club, Udinese, agreed to pay St Patrick’s Athletic an upfront fee of €500,000 to land James Abankwah on a five-year contract.

While Abankwah has been loaned back to the Saints until the summer, Heffernan is making the opposite journey and with no guarantees.

Although he signed a professional contract with City in July, the player who became the club’s youngest ever debutant last October will be a free agent at the end of the 2022 League of Ireland season.

That impairs City’s ability to command anything in the order of the fee St Pat’s grossed for Abankwah, but they will share financially in his success if he progresses to the first-team ranks at the San Siro or moves on in a windfall transfer.

Meanwhile, Jeff Hendrick is set for a birthday present by replicating Aaron Connolly’s decision to utilise Championship outfit Middlesbrough to help
revive his season.

Hendrick has played just 10 minutes for Newcastle United over the last four months, becoming further marginalised since the arrival of new manager Eddie Howe. This month’s splurge following the Saudi takeover killed off any prospect of a recall and, with pressure on their maximum squad headcount of 25, the midfielder has been allowed to depart.

Connolly joined Chris Wilder’s promotion-chasing Boro at the start of the window from Brighton, and Hendrick — who turns 30 on Monday — is in talks to clinch a similar loan until the end of the season.

Jamie McGrath is also in line for a deadline-day move.

St Mirren need to cash in on their prize asset to avoid losing him for free when his contract lapses in the summer and speculation linked the Meath man with a fee-plus-player move to fellow SPFL outfit Hibernian.

The prospect of him joining Shaun Moloney’s side appears to have receded, with English League One’s Wigan Athletic still in the frame to snare the Ireland midfielder.

Elsewhere, Anthony Barry’s status as one of Stephen Kenny’s assistants looks assured after he rejected the chance of reuniting with Frank Lampard at Everton.

Thomas Tuchel was prepared to allow the 35-year-old double-job from last February but, had Lampard got his way and lured him from Chelsea with the offer of far more seniority, then it would have been on the basis of his time commitment being undivided.